The Butler with the Devilish Smile
by The Disciple of Pein
Summary: Sometimes when a man dies, nothing changes. Sometimes when a man lives, everything changes. A feared Jinchuuriki becomes a stranger with questionable ethics. A dark avenger becomes an heir to a clan regaining its former glory. A lovestruck girl becomes a genius with an extreme sense of dualism. But why would an outlaw ever show loyalty to a place like Konoha? What is his agenda?
1. Chapter 1

It's not easy writing a fic with a consistently heavy atmosphere, so I'm putting my cards on the table and offering a choice to you, the readers. This is the first time I've started a fic while another is ongoing, the hiatus on Rise of Karagakure aside. I don't intend on writing two fics at the same time however, so if any of you want to see more of what's going on in this fic be sure and let me know. I'm only going to continue this fic if it seems enough people want me to, so be sure to drop a message or a review if you want me to keep writing this. In accordance to that, I really hope you enjoy this first of hopefully many chapters in a fic that's a move out of the norm for me.

* * *

**The boy from out of town**

A small battery powered fan whirred diligently, setting out a cool breeze that was the one comfort Hogane Kotetsu had in this damn job. Well, the shade was nice. Didn't make things any less stifling though. He pushed back on his chair, leaning on only two legs, rocking back and forth and waving the fan across his neck and face. There was no doubt about it. Summer sucked and all that it stood for sucked to. Revolution against summer!

It was at that point that Kotetsu switched off his fan and stared blankly at the ceiling of the small booth he was housed in. Revolution against summer? What the hell was that supposed to mean? He was losing all his sensibilities in this heat, and sitting still like this just made the whole thing worse. So he dropped the fan on the desk and got up off his ass. Then he stepped out of the booth, and promptly set to leaning against it. Much better.

Normally Kotetsu would have his buddy to complain to, but Kamizuki Izumo was away taking care of some other business this morning. That pissed him off a great deal. He just knew Izumo was somewhere cool right now, drinking an ice tea and looking outside, laughing his ass off at the notion of Kotetsu being stuck here on damn guard duty without so much as a warm soda!

"Lucky bastard… when I get my hands on him…!"

"Sounds like someone's in for a bad time."

Kotetsu looked up to the one who had spoken to him. Some guy stood there with a couple of water bottles in his hand. He was a ninja, no doubt about it. The guy tossed one of the bottles to Kotetsu, who caught it without taking his eyes off the newcomer. He recognised the guy, but he was just having trouble putting a name to a face. Inari? Isari? Oh, of course! It was Inabi.

"Thanks." Kotetsu said, opening the bottle and taking a drink from it. Inabi stepped inside the booth and took a seat at the chair that was usually Izumo's. That struck Kotetsu as odd, but he didn't pay it too much attention. Protocol dictated that there were always at least two guards at the main gate. If anything, what was strange was the guy they picked to replace Izumo. "I've never seen them send an Uchiha down for guard duty."

Uchiha Inabi passed a smirk at Kotetsu while he unscrewed the lid to his water bottle. "Yeah well don't think I'm here to make your life easier ok buddy?" he remarked. The two of them took a swig out of their bottles at the same time, down to the wiping of the mouth with their sleeves immediately after. "To tell the truth I did myself a little injury out in the field a week ago. The doc told me to rest, but I can't stand sitting around doing nothing, so I got assigned here to fill in for the usual guy."

Kotetsu chuckled privately. "If you took this job because you hate sitting around, I got bad news for ya." He put his bottle down on the table and wandered a little away to take a look through the gates even though he knew no one was coming. "All we gotta do is stay within thirty yards of the gate and inspect whatever's coming and going. And I hate to say it, but south side hasn't been seeing a lot of traffic lately."

Inabi hummed his acknowledgement of what Kotetsu was saying, but he was already unfurling the newspaper Kotetsu had been reading earlier. It was a tabloid piece that no normal person would take seriously. But sometimes there were secrets hidden in these things, hints about goings on in the outside world that didn't make sense to the broadsheet journalists. It was funny how the paranoid conspiracy theorists seemed to think in similar veins to ninja. Funny, but kind of disheartening.

"Rice Paddy is Making Some Noise?" Inabi read aloud with a curious cock of the brow.

"You've heard the rumours about the Sound Village right?" Kotetsu asked when he returned to the booth to find Inabi looking at the very article he'd read an hour ago. "Rice Paddy was looking at civil war when a band of ninja swept in and cleaned up the whole mess. Their Feudal Lord was so overjoyed he let them build their own ninja village. Now they're even changing Rice Paddy's name to "Sound Country"."

Inabi stared at Kotetsu, waiting for the part he didn't already know. "Yeah? So?"

"Well they're making a big deal about it because no one actually knows anything about this band of ninja." Kotetsu shrugged. It wasn't his theory and he wasn't gonna bother defending it. "Don't know where the village is, who's running it or even how they're getting their mail. According to that column there Sound Country is communicating with Sound Village via birds trained in encrypted Morse code."

Inabi started laughing loudly and picked up the paper again. He _had_ to give that article a read, even if it was a load of garbage. While he busied himself with that Kotetsu took another round along the breadth of the gate, looking both ways for signs that he would have more company soon. There were still no signs of anyone coming into the village, but a small group of children were running his way from the main street. Whistling out to Inabi, the two of them stood in front of the gate and halted the children when they arrived.

"Hold on there, where do you think you're all going?" Kotetsu asked. There was no rule stating that children couldn't step outside the village walls, but it was generally ill advised that they do so unattended. It was part of his job to at least make sure they weren't going to do anything dangerous. "Do your parents know you're coming out here?"

"Yes!" the children chimed in unison. The one of them, a fair haired girl in overalls, stepped forward. "We're going out to hunt for cicadas!" she announced, while her friends brandished nets and small cages to make sure Kotetsu and Inabi didn't miss them. "We won't go far and we'll be back before noon, ok?"

The odd mix of responsibility and informality carried in the girl's explanation made Kotetsu grin. He couldn't resist teasing them a little. "Sure thing, we just gotta check you first!" he said, demonstrating his substitute partner with a hand. "Inabi-san, would you do the honours?"

Inabi cast his eyes at Kotetsu and the gate keeper's grin faltered a bit. Inabi didn't say anything however and instead put his focus towards the children. "Hands in the air!" he instructed. The children quickly responded to the authority in his tone, raising their hands so fast they clapped together. Inabi darted his eyes over them all and nodded the all clear. He and Kotetsu stepped aside, and the children rushed out as quickly as they'd come.

Kotetsu kept an eye on them until they ran out of sight and into the trees. Afterwards he looked back at Inabi, who had returned to the booth and picked up the newspaper again, reading without the enthusiasm he had amounted a minute ago. Kotetsu headed over to the booth and leaned in, watching the Uchiha curiously.

"I gotta be honest; I was hoping you'd give them a little scare with that Sharingan." He said with a flat expression.

"I know what you wanted." Inabi replied, flicking through the newspaper for something that caught his attention and wasn't related to Sound Country. When he found nothing but drivel he put the paper down and decided to level with Kotetsu. "You might not know this, but the children of the village are already afraid of the Uchiha enough without the Sharingan."

As it turned out Kotetsu did _not_ know this, as was indicated by the look of surprise on his face. "I know you guys have a reputation for being kinda on the stiff side, but don't you think you're exaggerating a little?"

Pinching his brow, Inabi sighed. "You don't spend much time around the average villagers, do you?" he rhetorically asked, before explaining further. "I'm sure you're aware that the reputation of the Uchiha clan has been suffering for a while now. There was even talk about restricting us in order to keep an eye out for any trouble."

"You talking about the Kyuubi Conspiracy?" Kotetsu asked, straightening up with a smile. "You're not still hung up on that are you? I'll admit when I heard about the accusations against the Uchiha I had a hard time staying unbiased. But the Godaime himself is vouching for your clan. That's good enough for me."

Inabi nodded his head and gave his own wistful smile. "The Godaime has certainly put a lot of faith in us, but that doesn't mean the rest of the village does." He said morosely. "Sadly when a large demonic entity wreaks havoc on your home it's expected that you become paranoid about it. Even if people aren't allowed to publically stand against us, there's nothing stopping them from warning their children away from the possible demon harbingers."

There was nothing Kotetsu could say against that, even if he didn't like it. "This might sound strange coming from someone like me, but I kinda think the ninja arts as a whole ought to be treated a little more like that." He admitted, earning a surprised look from Inabi. "Look at Kirigakure. It's in a bad state right now because the Mizukage was allowed to do whatever he wanted. I thought the reason we ninja existed was to keep strife out of the lives of our fellow man, but you give the wrong man too much power and suddenly the tables turn. I just think it'd be better if the people didn't depend on us so much."

He shrugged to himself as he concluded his opinion. He was right, Inabi thought. That _was_ strange to hear coming from someone like him. It was comforting nonetheless. He had never even considered the possibility that the mistrust the Uchiha received could be interpreted in any way as a good thing. While he wasn't sure he agreed with it, the notion did at least take some of the weight off his mind. "Make sure the higher ups don't catch you saying that." He remarked with a smirk. "Any downsizing goes on and you'll be the first person they think of."

It was Kotetsu's turn to laugh aloud this time. He backed off again to do another round of the gate, but he stopped quickly when he looked off to the distance. "Well we've all got jobs now, so on your feet soldier!" he said, pointing to the road outside the village. "We've got company!"

Inabi left the booth and joined Kotetsu in looking off to the distance. Just a little closer than a kilometre away there was indeed something heading in what was irrefutably their direction. It was a single wagon pulled by a single horse, led by a single rider by the looks of it. By all standards Inabi was disappointed. He was hoping for at least a trade caravan.

After a few minutes of waiting on the steady trot of the horse-pulled wagon, the guards were finally able to do their jobs. They approached the wagon as soon as it passed over the gate, meeting with the old man holding the reins. He was an odd fellow with a depressing sort of face and body. Small, wrinkled and with unbelievably thick grey eyebrows that actually seemed to weigh his forehead down at the sides, giving him a perpetual expression of sadness matched with his droopy jowls. He wasn't the only thing old here. The horse had seen its better days and the wagon looked like it would be put to better use as the primary component to a bonfire.

"Travel papers please sir." Kotetsu said. The old man had his papers at the ready and handed them out. It was Inabi who accepted them, letting Kotetsu take the lead on the verbal procedure while he studied the papers for any signs that they could be doctored. "Please state your name, business and cargo."

"Oh my name is Aikibito Hishigata." The old man explained, in as sad a voice as one would expect with a face like that. "I'm here to trade my wares."

"Uh huh, and what would those wares be?"

"Oh, diamonds."

Inabi stopped his reading to look up at the old man, wearing as incredulous an expression as Kotetsu was. Kotetsu however was the first to recover, and did so with a smile. "Diamonds huh?" he asked sceptically. "Man I must be out of the loop old man. Since when were diamonds in such abundance that you can't even afford decent wheels to carry them along?"

"Oh, diamonds are still plenty valuable smartass." The old man replied in a heartbeat. "It's just cheaper to put an old man on a busted wagon than hire mercenaries to guard your wares and hope they don't get greedy. Where I come from they don't have any of you ninjas, so we gotta make do with what we got. Now are you gonna let me do my job or are you gonna make me climb down off this thing so I can kick you in the nuts?"

"The papers check out." Inabi said, trying to restrain a smile.

"Easy old timer, you can be on your way in a minute!" Kotetsu said with a sharp grin and a peaceful display of his palms. "We've gotta do _our_ job first alright? Now before we check out the wagon, is there anyone else travelling with you right now?"

The old man took back his papers and scratched his chin for a second. "Yeah, there's a boy that hitched a ride from the last town over." He said, jerking his thumb back the way he had come. "Seemed pretty set on getting over here, and he paid me fare for the journey, so I let him sit on the back. My wares are well disguised, and I got a crossbow under here, so there were no worries."

While he rambled on Inabi went around to the back of the wagon to see this boy. But he didn't see anybody sitting at the back like he expected, nor did he see anyone when he looked inside the wagon. When he returned to the front he did so with a frown, wondering if the old man was messing with them. "There's no one back there." He said.

The old man suddenly gave out a chortle that added a tally to the running check of how off his rocker he really was. "Oh I didn't think you would!" he cackled, pointing dead ahead with his sad face full of merriment. "You're not looking in the right direction!"

Startled, Kotetsu and Inabi whipped their heads toward the village. Sure enough they saw a boy walking with his back to them, with no possible origin other than the gate they were guarding. That wasn't all however. It was one thing to understand a boy of his age being unaware of gate checks. But it was another thing entirely if the boy just so happened to be carrying a sword on his back. That they could _not_ let off lightly.

"Hey! You!" Kotetsu called out, rushing to catch up with the boy. The boy looked back at him and shocked Kotetsu with a vicious smirk, before he suddenly disappeared into thin air, leaving behind a trail of smoke. The only words forming in Kotetsu's mind then were "oh shit". Luckily his mouth collected itself better. "Inabi! Follow him!"

Inabi didn't need telling twice. In an instant his black eyes turned to a bright shade of red as the Sharingan became active. The next instant, there was no Inabi in sight at all. That left Kotetsu cursing himself for letting the boy get past him, and the old man recovering from his high of watching the ninja get duped.

"Looks like your boss is gonna kick your balls for me."

* * *

Somewhere off to the distance the bell tower rung, marking the time as four o'clock. The noon sun cast the village in a relaxing orange hue, perfect for winding down after a long day of work. Well, if you were a student at the ninja academy anyway, like a certain someone.

Uchiha Sasuke took a stroll down Autumn Avenue, where the trees were always at their best in the crispness of fall. On this evening however the green leaves flourished brilliantly, casting a soothing shade over Sasuke as he walked beneath them. He had an appointment to be somewhere, but he walked at a casual pace, in no hurry to get where he was going.

Today marked the start of the exam period in the ninja academy. All over the village aspiring ninja had been putting their studies to the test in order to ensure they would keep their spot for the next year. Some of the less hopeful ones were also preparing to take the police examinations on the chance that they didn't get to move on to the next year. Sasuke was not one of those people. He knew he'd be among the top of the class before exam period was even announced. And if today was any indicator, he was right to believe that. By all standards he was certain he'd at least be second best, if not first. Though in honesty, he hadn't been first in a few years now. A certain someone had routed that title away from him. Not that he minded.

A short while later found him out of the trees and into the urban environment, bordering the edge of the district known as the Uchiha Compound. Though that place was home for Sasuke, it was not his destination at this current time. Instead he headed for a place close to the compound. One of the most important buildings in a square mile that was in many senses a second home to Sasuke. He ascended the stone steps and opened the door, entering into the Konoha Military Police Force.

He crossed through the reception room without stopping, whistling out to the guy sitting behind the desk. One of the older members of the clan, Uchiha Yashiro, grinned and waved at Sasuke, who returned the gesture in passing. "Nice to see they're keeping you busy Yashiro-san!" he called out even while reaching out to the door to the stairwell.

"Yeah just wait until you enter into the world of paper work brat!" Yashiro shouted back, demonstrating his workload with a flourish of his pen. Sasuke laughed as he entered in the current pass code on the security door and left Yashiro to his busy work.

He climbed the stairwell with good speed, always looking out through the glass walls at each floor to see what the other members of the force were up to. Each floor had its own department that focused on certain areas of illegal behaviour. The busiest department was vice, which dealt with situations of moral crimes like illicit trading of narcotics or gambling. Thankfully the department that saw the least action was homicide, but it still had a few detectives walking its halls, looking over case files and such. It was all a smooth operation, led by the Police Chief Uchiha Fugaku. Sasuke's father.

It didn't take long to reach the top floor, where the head honcho's office was located. Sasuke stepped into the well furnished corridor and made a beeline for his father's office, just as he had many times in the past. He'd been here so often as a kid that when he reached the polished door with his father's title embossed upon the frosted glass, he reached for the handle without even knocking.

"-Just think you could use a little more _diversity_ in the squad."

Sasuke halted just before turning the doorknob. He recognised the voice of someone who was not his father yet was within his father's office. He knew who the person was, but he was having trouble attaching a name to a face. After a few seconds of thought he gave up and- Aoba! That was it, Yamashiro Aoba. Well in any case he took his hand away from the knob and decided to do a little sporadic reconnaissance practice. In other words, he pressed himself against the wall and shamelessly eavesdropped on his father's discussion.

"I understand your views but I have already chosen who will take the position in Yashiro's place."

The sound of his father's voice caused a curious look to befall Sasuke's face. He had found it strange that Yashiro was down in reception when that had never been his official position, but he'd chalked it down to some injury or other keeping him from field duty. The guy wasn't much older than Sasuke's father, and he was too hard a worker to just get demoted. So what exactly were they talking about in there?

"With all due respect chief the candidates I've shown you have a better service record than the one you've selected. You realise that people still call the squad the "Uchiha Special Forces" right?"

A slight chuckle escaped Sasuke's lips at that moment. So that was what this was about? The special forces unit? Well it was only natural that the unit was full of Uchiha. Sasuke remembered the force when it was first created four years ago. There wasn't a single person in that unit that didn't come from the Uchiha. And since it was headed by his father, who also headed the clan itself, wasn't it only natural that the unit would consist of Uchiha? That Aoba guy had to have a screw loose if he didn't see that much.

"Alright Yamashiro-san, I'll take a look at the candidates' files. Now if you don't mind, my son is waiting for me outside."

Sasuke smiled sheepishly to himself. Shortly after the door opened and Yamashiro Aoba stepped out, spotting Sasuke next to the door right away. He tipped his nonexistent cap politely and went down the hall to his own office. With the coast clear Sasuke entered into his father's office. "Trouble with the liaison?" he asked, closing the door behind him.

The office of Police Chief Uchiha Fugaku was in many ways an inversion of the Hokage's office; a place Sasuke had had the opportunity of visiting but once in his life thus far. Deep blue walls lined with filing cabinets and book cases, wall scrolls bearing the Uchiha clan emblem hanging on either side of the door and tall fern trees on either side of the bay window overlooking the village. It was there, sitting behind a grand oak desk, that Sasuke's father was seated.

Uchiha Fugaku reclined in his chair, holding a file in his hand and looking at it, but not really reading it. "Yamashiro-san makes a good point." He said, glancing over the pictures of the candidates that had been given to him by Aoba. "It can be difficult to assure the villagers that the Special Forces unit has everyone's best interests at heart when all the members of that unit are allied to a single clan before the Hokage."

"Hmm?" Sasuke hummed with vague disinterest. He stood by one of the bookcases and glanced over the many thick ring binders that lined the shelves. Not one of them had a discernible way for him to tell what was inside. They were all coded with a character that he was sure only those who need to knew, knew. "And I guess it's got nothing to do with the fact that Aoba reports directly to the Hokage, right?"

Fugaku looked up from the file to his son, who was currently running a finger across the surface of the shelf. He had half a mind to throw a book at the cocky brat when he had the audacity to check his finger for dust, but he restrained himself. "All Yamashiro-san is doing is making sure that the Police Department stays allied to Konoha above all else." He said, setting down the file for later reading. "I know you don't want to hear it, but not so long ago there was a time when the Uchiha's interests conflicted with Konoha's. We should be thankful to the Hokage for managing to resolve the situation without bloodshed."

Sasuke had no remark for this, for he had no understanding of the matter his father was referring to. He had at one time noticed a great tension in the Uchiha that had made him very nervous around five years ago. It coincided with a time that his elder brother had begun acting strangely. But before he knew it the tension died, and things seemed to return to normal. It had never bothered him since, so he never asked.

In his son's silence Fugaku rose from his seat and walked around the desk, leaning upon it and watching his youngest wander the room and do everything in his power not to meet his father's gaze. But Fugaku's steady stare had the effect of drawing Sasuke to the centre of the room, where he locked eyes with the ceiling fan directly above him. Fugaku crossed his arms and added a stern expression.

"So how did your first exam go?" he asked firmly.

Sasuke gave an overzealous shrug while keeping his attention glued to the rotating fan. "They start off with the easy ones and work their way up in difficulty to test how we handle the pressure." He responded, slipping his hands in his pockets and rocking on the balls of his feet. "Ninja history. You could've broken both my hands and I still would have finished with time to spare."

Fugaku gave a sagely nod. He had spent the past few months quizzing Sasuke at random intervals about various aspects of ninja history. From the very beginning Sasuke had made sure never to fail to answer a question, out of a slight fear of Fugaku that Fugaku felt was necessary considering Sasuke's future line of work. At the same time however Sasuke had never had trouble answering his father's questions. Fugaku was concerned that Sasuke was perhaps too bright for his own good.

"And your standing in the classroom?"

"I'm the top male student of the class."

"Just top male?" Fugaku enquired with a raised brow. His son's shoulders dropped suddenly, and Fugaku turned up the strictness in his voice. "Sasuke."

The call was a command, and a command Sasuke obeyed. He lowered his eyes from the ceiling fan and met his father's, showing an obstinance and an embarrassment that told Fugaku volumes. "The top student overall would be the top _female_ student of the class." Sasuke confessed. There was a flicker in his eyes that was in some strange way both cool and testy at the same time. "Haruno Sakura."

Fugaku gave a slight inclination of the head that he knew well enough was driving Sasuke nuts. Sasuke shared a class with a good number of students. From what Fugaku knew there was one other Uchiha including Sasuke in that class, and one from each of the other major clans in Konoha. That didn't even take account for the students from minor clans, students with one or two ninja as parents or even those from a complete civilian background. Yet funnily enough there was only one name that Sasuke ever brought up when it came to talking about school. That name was of course, Haruno Sakura.

"You know you'll never impress her if you don't surpass her." Fugaku said with a growing smirk. He folded his arms while Sasuke scowled at him and gave him a casual look that no doubt irritated his son even further. "Honestly I'd prefer you choose someone from your own clan. But I can see there's no convincing you, so I'll just wish you my best instead."

By the look on Sasuke's face Fugaku could tell that without that bit of fear his son had of him he might have been on the other end of a very loud denial. Instead, and wisely so, Sasuke brushed off his father's implication and shifted the subject in a more, if only by a little, favourable direction. "That girl's a workaholic." He said with an aloof gesture. "If she's not coming in with some new injury she's coming in from an all-nighter of studying whether there's reason to or not. She's obsessed."

"Obsession isn't always such a bad thing." Fugaku commented. "It's the opposite extreme of total apathy. The difference is obsession gets things done."

A gap of silence passed between father and son as no impression was made upon Sasuke by his father's questionable insight. He had a feeling his father was making more of a remark about Sasuke's behaviour than his classmate's, but Sasuke wasn't particularly introspective. "So why did you call me up here?" he asked, moving on to the main subject. "I was surprised when Mizuki-sensei handed me that note."

Fugaku straightened up and stepped around his desk again, this time standing in front of the window. He gestured with Sasuke to join him, and once his son was also looking out to the village he started to speak. "Your mother doesn't approve of me talking about such things, but it's something I think you need to know." He said, looking towards the Hokage Monument in the distance. "Before I say anything I need your word that you will tell no one about what I'm about to say. This never leaves this room or goes further than you and I."

With his curiosity piqued, Sasuke gave his father a frown. "I promise." He said.

"Good." Fugaku gave a sigh. It was a tough topic he wanted to discuss. "You've been informed about the Kyuubi Conspiracy, correct?" Sasuke nodded. "Eleven years ago the fox attacked. In its wake there were a lot of questions asked and suspicions raised. The three most popular theories were that the Kyuubi simply broke free, the container released it, or it was forcibly removed by those with the power to do so."

"Uchiha being the foremost group of interest." Sasuke chimed, rolling his eyes. He already said he knew about this didn't he?

"Correct. However it was years before these accusations were made public. Even so, when that happened the Uchiha were backed into a corner. And as you may know, the Uchiha aren't known for being the submissive type." Sasuke smirked. "Five years ago I and the rest of the Uchiha were planning a coup against the village. We would take over and assert ourselves as dominant." He closed his eyes for a sentimental moment. "In hindsight that was a brash move that could have destroyed us all."

"And then the Hokage swooped in with a peace negotiation and a nice budget increase to the Police Force." Sasuke said, as if he'd said it a hundred times already.

"Not quite." Fugaku replied. He shot a sharp look at Sasuke that shut the boy up and told him not to speak disrespectfully as he was. "It wasn't that easy for either side. We would have gone ahead with the coup if the Godaime hadn't confronted us on our own territory. It was at that time that he revealed his knowledge of our plans and his wish to avoid bringing civil war to the village."

Sasuke gave his father an incredulous glance. "He just showed up like that? Why didn't you just make your move then?"

There was a change in the tint in Fugaku's eyes. He didn't like what he was hearing from his son's mouth. It sounded far too much like what a good number of the Uchiha continued to say to this very day. "There was a good reason that we didn't attack the Godaime at that time." He said, looking at the stone face of that very person at the north end of the village. "He was backed by your elder brother."

Sasuke's composure cracked at the mention of Uchiha Itachi. He quickly diverted his attention to the window, looking anywhere but to his father. "Itachi?" he repeated. "What do you mean?"

"I mean that he allied himself with Konoha before the Uchiha." Fugaku explained. He gave a curt nod towards the academy, where the Hokage's office could be found. "He was trusted by the Hokage. We believed we could use him to gather information on the Hokage. Little did we know that the Hokage was using him for that very same purpose against us. At the time you can be certain I and the rest of the Uchiha were angry. Itachi and the Godaime proved to be persuasive however. The rest is as you know it."

Silence fell upon father and son as Fugaku allowed Sasuke time to let this information sink in. It took Sasuke the better part of a minute to think about it all, and he didn't slack off in doing so. When he finally settled on his feelings he turned away from the window and headed back towards the centre of the room, hands buried in his pockets and eyes back on the ceiling.

"By the sound of things we could have been in a really bad position if not for Itachi and the Godaime." He said. He turned on the spot to face his father again. "But I'm not sure I understand. What's the point in telling me this?"

Fugaku watched his son for a moment. He felt glad that Sasuke shared his view on the affair. After hearing what Sasuke had to say just before that he was concerned that he was about to make a rift between the two brothers. "Itachi's position with the Godaime has grown even stronger since that time." he said, joining his son away from the window. "I believe there's a chance that Itachi might even become Hokage one day."

When this was said Fugaku was standing directly in front of Sasuke, commanding his son's full attention. Not that he needed to be so close to earn that, but it helped in expressing the gravity of the situation. "Should that happen, Itachi will no longer be fit to handle the affairs of the Uchiha in my stead." He spoke with great care and strength. "Do you understand what I'm saying Sasuke? There is a possibility that the Uchiha clan will be entrusted to _you_ and _not_ your brother."

A couple of sparrows landed on the window sill outside the police chief's office, chirping to one another in their own language. The two bounced around the sill for a few seconds in this exchange, before taking off together and heading towards the market district. Their chirping was the only noise made for a while. Naturally Sasuke was quite at a loss.

The Uchiha were as firm with tradition as any other greater clan. They were certainly comparable with the Hyuga in that regard. That was why Sasuke had grown up always believing that it would be Itachi who took over the Uchiha when their father retired. Sasuke had never in his life been ambitious, so he had never even thought about a future where he _could_ become head of the Uchiha. To hear his father saying such a thing to him now wasn't just shocking, it was downright earth shattering.

His father could see the effects of what he said and knew that Sasuke wasn't going to be able to think clearly for a while yet. There was no rush to hear his thoughts on the matter though, so he allowed things to move on so he could give his son some time. "Think it over for a while. We'll discuss it later." He said, putting a hand on Sasuke's shoulder and leading him to the door. "Come along, I'll walk you out."

Sasuke moved on reflex as his father wheeled him through the corridor and towards the stairs. It was good that he had made so many visits to this place in the past that he was able to pass through the building on memory alone. He wasn't paying any heed to his surroundings past his father's presence beside him. How could he, when he had just been told he could one day be the leader of an entire clan?

What a giant pain in the ass that would be!

It was only a few minutes before the two of them reached the ground floor and were stepping into the reception hall again, where Yashiro was still busy at the same paperwork he had been doing fifteen minutes ago. Sasuke would have stayed in his daze even as his father bid him farewell, if not for the fact that his father stopped suddenly in his tracks, making Sasuke bump into him a little. That brought Sasuke out by a bit, enough to look at what had brought his father to a halt.

"Inabi." Fugaku called out. "What are you doing here? You are supposed to be off duty."

As it turned out Yashiro wasn't doing the same paperwork at all. He and Uchiha Inabi were both looking over a form from either side of the desk when Fugaku and Sasuke arrived. Inabi looked at Fugaku with a raised brow instead of the sheepish smirk he usually wore when he tried to sneak in extra hours.

"Fugaku." Inabi said. He turned back to the form and signed his name before joining the head of the Uchiha and the Police Department. "You know I can't just sit around and do nothing all day. I got assigned guard duty at the south gate." He nodded down the corridor to Yashiro's left. "I caught someone trying to sneak in without submitting to standard procedure. It was a boy, about Sasuke's age. Fugaku, the kid has ninja training. He gave me a good run around for a couple of minutes."

Fugaku was already fixing his attention on the corridor Inabi had nodded towards. It was a passage separated from the reception hall by a thick sheet of plastic and a door with an electronic lock. As such he could see down the corridor and to the guard standing outside a room. "Why is he in an interrogation room?" he asked. "Our jail cells are designed with barrier jutsu to keep ninja from breaking out."

Inabi let out a weak chuckle at that, rubbing the back of his neck and grinning feebly. "That's the thing. We've got some punks in there that were trying to steal booze." He said with a jerk of the head to the corridor to Yashiro's right. "The second we put the kid in there with them he decks the big guy and starts making plans with the others. I'm pretty sure I heard the word "heist" in there."

A laugh escaped Sasuke's mouth. All of a sudden his attentions were diverted to the hall this "kid" was supposed to be in. Fugaku didn't share his sentiment, but he was certainly apprehensive from what Inabi was telling him. "A couple of minutes?" he repeated, while pushing Sasuke towards the plastic door. "Sounds like you need more time off to recover."

While Inabi groaned Fugaku typed in the code that allowed Sasuke and himself entry to the interrogation rooms. Well, they were called interrogation rooms, but more than once Fugaku had picked up on wry comments from Morino Ibiki and his goons regarding his methods of interrogation. However whenever he heard one of those Torture and Interrogation guys accuse him of being a "soft touch", he knew to take it as a compliment. The T and I department got their jobs done, but often at the cost of traumatising the detainee for life. That was not how the Konoha Military Police Department did things, and it never would be.

Sasuke followed after his father, his eyes coming to the guard standing at the door of the designated interrogation room. The guard was not an Uchiha, and therefore Sasuke did not know him. Fugaku however greeted the man with a courteous nod which was returned. Soon the guard was forgotten however, as he and his father came to the window of the room with the mentioned prisoner. Sasuke looked in with bated breath.

Interrogation rooms were primarily used for that purpose, but there were occasions such as now when they were needed to house more suspicious guests. In this instance the tables and chairs had been removed and the cot that was usually clipped to the wall had been let down, providing a seat and a bed for its current inhabitant. The room was dark, but there was still a good enough degree of visibility for Sasuke to make out just what he was looking at.

A boy indeed, of Sasuke's age most agreeably. But even with the visibility being fairly decent there wasn't much Sasuke could clearly make out about the individual. He wore a thin hooded jacket several sizes too big for him, with said hood shrouding his head and half his face with it. The jacket was unfastened, and underneath he wore nothing, showing off a frame more muscular than Sasuke's teachers would advise. Cloth wraps covered his hands and he wore dark pants with brown sandals on his feet. What Sasuke could see of this boy told him just about as much as it didn't.

Next to him Fugaku was studying the boy in the interrogation room with a sharper perspective. Slowly his gaze became more and more fixed and his brow deepened into a strange frown. His lips moved ever so slightly in time with his thoughts, yet they were unreadable. He waved a hand to the guard, a signal to turn on the lights. The guard obeyed, and a second later Sasuke flinched.

A pair of brilliant blue eyes, piercing through the glass and staring deep into his own. A smile that gave away not a single detail of what was going on in that mind. A boy who could see through a two way mirror as if it weren't there at all. Three things that bothered Sasuke about the stranger sitting before him. It took him a second to realise the gravity of that last detail though.

"He can see me." He breathed.

"Don't be-" Fugaku was about to accuse his son of having a weak gut or a foolish mind, but the truth was that the boy behind the glass just drew too much of his attention. There was something about his face that lured him in, like an optical illusion you couldn't quite figure out. Attempting proved to be a difficult process, and since Sasuke put the notion in his head, he turned his attention to the concern of his son.

It took him no more than a millisecond with his Sharingan to discover something that struck him as odd. The boy's hands were clasped together with unusual firmness for the way the boy sat. If he wasn't holding something in there, he was performing some sort of trick. And yet the way he held his hands together, a simple grasping of one palm across the other, resembled no hand seal, conventional or otherwise, that Fugaku had ever seen before. His Sharingan showed him no gathering of chakra. Either Sasuke really was just being paranoid, or the boy had already done what he wanted to do.

Whatever that was, it allowed the boy to look Sasuke straight in the eyes.

"There's something strange about him." Fugaku murmured to himself. He glanced to the guard. "Anything to report?"

"He was apprehended with a katana strapped to his back." The guard explained. "He was very vocal about us confiscating it. Before he was put in the cell he said he had a meeting with the Hokage, but we checked it out and there's no such record of a-"

The guard was cut off by the unexpected sound of a hand knocking against glass. For a second the three of them looked at the window to the interrogation room, but the boy within hadn't moved an inch. They looked further on then to the only other place that made sense, i.e. the security door to this part of the building. Sure enough there was someone there, waving from the other side and showing off what looked like a wrapped bento box.

Uchiha Mikoto, wife of Uchiha Fugaku and mother of Uchiha Sasuke.

Without any hesitance Fugaku crossed the corridor and opened up the door, greeting his wife with a neat level of affection for their marriage and propriety for his official standing. But Mikoto as always had a habit of foregoing formalities when she was in a good mood, and she was certainly in a good mood now. When Fugaku aimed to give her a kiss on the cheek she intercepted with her lips, causing much embarrassment for Sasuke and the guard.

In an attempt to divert his focus away from his parents Sasuke returned his attention to the boy behind the glass. Doing so led him to notice that the boy was wearing a different expression than he had a moment ago. The smile had tightened at the edges and the eyes had sharpened considerably, no longer looking directly at Sasuke. The boy grasped his still clasped hands together and furrowed his brow a little. Then, for some reason, Sasuke got goose bumps.

The guard reacted suddenly, making Sasuke jump as the guard looked inside the room. Before Sasuke could ask if anything was up the guard was switching his attention to Fugaku, who was already returning to them with a troubled look on his face. The two of them were looking back inside the interrogation room as if they'd just smelled smoke coming from out of there. Sasuke joined them in their search and discovered right away a thing that troubled him quite a bit. The boy. His smile was back, and his eyes were as piercing as ever. However he did not look at Sasuke, Fugaku or the guard. Instead he drew those eyes slowly across the wall of the interrogation room.

"What's going on?"

Fugaku froze where he stood, a look of dawning shock coming over his face. Like the boy behind the glass he slowly turned his eyes across the wall, until he reached what he felt was the point of intersection between their lines of sight. Or rather, until he was looking at exactly what the boy was looking at. That was his own wife, coming to join him in his concerned inspection. The thought of what that meant nearly paralysed Fugaku. The boy could see through walls!

"Who's in…" Mikoto began to ask about the inhabitant of the room, but by then she was close enough to see for herself. In a split second worried curiosity turned into a stupefied stare as her mouth hung open and her eyes locked on to the boy inside. She looked like the breath had been knocked out of her by what she saw. And when she spoke, it was like she was seeing the dead walking. "_Kushina?!_"

The name drop brought on a double take from Fugaku so sharp he almost broke his own neck. From his wife, to the boy, to his wife again and then back to the boy, until he was searching for the details his wife had picked up instantly without having to utilise her Sharingan. "Kushina?" he repeated warily. "Are you talking about _that_ Kushina?!"

Mikoto didn't bother to confirm or deny her husband's question. Instead she dodged around her husband and son to grab the guard by the arm, since she couldn't bring herself to look away from the boy behind the glass. "He was asked for his name, wasn't he?!" she demanded frantically. "What was it?!"

The guard was about as bewildered as Sasuke was, and also in a bit of pain from the force of Mikoto's grip. "Ah!" he gasped, speaking quickly for the sake of his poor arm. "He said his name was Uzumaki!"

Mikoto and Fugaku paled. "_Uzumaki?!_" Mikoto repeated. The guard winced.

"Yeah, Uzumaki Naruto!"

* * *

Hatake Kakashi rapped his knuckles against the wooden door to the Hokage's office. A second later he was called to enter. He opened the door and stepped into the dimly lit office, closing it behind him with a click. The Hokage was seated at his desk, his chair turned away from Kakashi and facing the window. From here Kakashi could just make out the official hat of the Hokage and a pair of feet on the window sill that suggested the village leader was in the middle of a snooze.

"It's Kakashi." Said Kakashi.

The afternoon sun barely reached in through the windows. It was enough to give everything in the room an auburn hue. The office was already a dark shade of red from its last refurbishment. It might have seemed like a good idea at the time, but it just made the room much more stuffy at times like this. This was why the windows were, as always, opened wide to allow in any and all breezes. Where that failed, the air conditioning unit above the centre window compensated. Right now it was doing its job, blowing cool air into the room.

The Godaime Hokage dropped his feet from the sill at Kakashi's introduction and turned in his seat until he was facing the Jonin. The hat of the Hokage sat at an angle on his head, covering his eyes from the light that had already gone off in a westward direction. He wore a smile that was as calm as his posture, wrinkles at the edges of his mouth indicating a life that brought on such an expression often.

"You're back sooner than I expected, Kakashi." The Godaime said. "All is well in Tea Country I take it?"

"If by well you mean one mob boss lesser then I suppose it is." Kakashi responded. "Shall I give my formal report now, Hokage-sama?"

The Godaime shook his head. "No, I'll just read it later." He said, simply to annoy Kakashi. It was procedure to write up a report after a mission, but the Godaime was lenient with matters of lesser importance to Fire Country and often let his ninja off with just a verbal report. He was politely criticised for it by a certain pair of advisors by the name of Sarutobi Hiruzen and Shimura Danzo, but he felt it was more important to reduce the stress in his ninjas life than to fill the file room with documents that weren't particularly necessary. Kakashi was just an exception to this nicety. "There's no one here Kakashi. You don't have to speak so respectfully."

As if words were nails what the Godaime spoke burst Kakashi's form and he visibly deflated into a more relaxed composure. "The last time I was caught calling you anything less than Hokage-sama I received strict words from the previous advisors." He said with a relieved sigh. He stepped forward and pulled out one of the two chairs in front of the Hokage's desk, turning it around and sitting on it with his arms folded on the back rest. "Then how was your day, dad?"

The Godaime lifted his hat from his head, revealing the same dark eyes and same grey hair as Kakashi before him. Hatake Sakumo was a man who knew how to look at people. He was well known for being able to notice the slightest twitches of a person's expression and translate them with such precision that he was at one time or another accused of wielding a Sharingan. Ironic, considering who his son was. Coincidentally it was that very same trait that had a hand in Kakashi spending about eighty percent of his life wearing a mask. Not that it helped him any against his father's eyes.

"I have some good news actually." Sakumo said, watching as Kakashi ran a finger across the desk, checking for dust. Sakumo had a sudden urge to throw a book at the cocky brat. "Just today I received some information as to the location of a certain gang of criminals that have been causing a lot of problems all over Fire Country. You know them as the Chain Breakers."

Kakashi rested his chin on his arms and watched his father passively. There was nothing strange about some gang running through Fire Country. At least not so that it was worth saying "good news" about finding them. But the lack of strangeness only served to make the matter into something strange. "I suppose… good work to whoever managed to locate them?" he guessed. "Hold on, didn't we bust the Chain Breakers a month ago?"

Sakumo shook his head and waved his hand. "No, you're thinking of the Jail Breakers." He corrected, before taking a second to consider what he just said. "Though now that I think about it, the mere thought that unimaginative groups like that are able to survive long enough to make a name for themselves is fairly disheartening. And boring to think about too." He glanced off for a second, then back to Kakashi. "I wonder if we should make some dummy gangs with better names? It would help us gather up some thugs looking for a group to join and tell us exactly where they're coming from."

"Sounds like a plan." Kakashi replied in a half interested tone. He didn't like the way this conversation was settling. Stepping out of an awkward silence wasn't something he enjoyed doing. But there wasn't all that much to talk about by way of gangs and such. "So what's so special about these "Chain Breakers"?"

There was a glint in Sakumo's eye as he opened his mouth to answer, but at the last second he hesitated and changed both his mind and his posture. "It might be nothing, might be something." He said mysteriously, sitting back in his chair and resting his jaw on his hand. "In other news, you've seen the roster for the graduating class from the academy, haven't you? Any students you think you'd be interested in leading?"

If Kakashi's chin wasn't already settled into his arms his head would have dropped down to his chest at that very instant. All of a sudden he missed the awkward silence from a moment ago; anything that didn't involve discussing his so far shaky future as a sensei to a Genin team was just dandy by him. Alas from the very moment his father hesitated it had already been too late to divert the topic.

"I haven't had a chance to look at the roster yet." He admitted, speaking in a half truth. He'd been purposefully busying himself with anything that kept him away from academy business. "Though from what I hear Gai is very enthusiastic about two or three students. I'm not sure whether to offer Gai luck as a sensei or his students luck for having Gai _as_ their sensei."

Sakumo laughed into his hand. Of course he'd heard of the infamous Maito Gai training regime, and how many a young ninja didn't make it through his examinations simply because it asked too much of their bodies. It was a stark contrast to Kakashi, who turned away any would be Genin that couldn't cooperate with their team mates. Then again Sakumo often wondered if that was the real reason his son had yet to settle on a team.

"You don't have your eye on anyone then." He said, clapping his hands together and sitting forward with a somewhat busy look about him. "That makes this easier. For this year you're being taken off the list of prospective Jonin sensei."

Kakashi cocked a brow at his father's rather brazen announcement. While he had no objections to being taken off the list itself, the question of why most definitely came to his mind. "You have a mission for me?" he asked, straightening up. Well, lifting his chin from his arms anyway. "I thought the arrangement for me leaving the ANBU squad was that I became a team captain instead?"

"You're twisting my words Kakashi. What I said was that you were too skilled to be kept out of a department. It was _you_ who chose to take the role of team captain, despite the fact that you've yet to actually take on a team." Sakumo spoke with greater severity than he usually gave out. This was another mannerism he reserved especially for his son. "But that aside for now, no, I don't have a mission for you."

Now Kakashi was changing from curious to concerned. If there was no mission and he was being taken off the list, then the only other conclusion he could reach was that he was about to be forcibly switched into another department. "I understand that you think I should just pick up a team and do my job, but it isn't that easy." He said, starting to get defensive. "I didn't think I'd be getting relocated without at least prior consultation."

There was a flurry of expressions brought on by Sakumo as a result of this. A furrowing of the brow, a pursing of the lips, a narrowing of the eyes and finally a widening when he realised what his son's train of thought was. "Oh, it's nothing like that!" he said with a quick wave to disregard Kakashi's misconception. "No, the reason you're off the list this year is because you might be needed _next_ year. I don't want to risk you actually _liking_ a team from this group. And in any case, it might not even be necessary, depending on what the teams I sent out bring back to me."

By now Kakashi was very confused. "Teams?" he frowned. "Are you talking about the Chain Breakers again?"

There it was again, the glint in Sakumo's eye. Only this time it was accompanied by a guilty face. Sakumo rubbed the back of his head and turned his chair away, averting his gaze from Kakashi and looking at the floor. "Kakashi, I have a confession to make." He said solemnly, speaking at a slow pace. "It's… in regards to Minato's legacy."

Kakashi watched his father with a growing feeling of anxiety. It had been a very long time since he had heard the name of his long dead sensei, and even to this day it was a tense subject with him. All he knew was that if his father had something to confess in that regard, it would be a pretty good idea to brace himself for the worst. "What is it?" he asked, noticing how dry his throat suddenly was.

"…Around eleven years ago, when the Kyuubi attacked Konoha, a boy was born. I'm sure you knew about it. It was Minato's child after all. But what you don't know is that there was a reason the Kyuubi attack and the birth of that boy coincided. That reason was because Minato's wife, Kushina, was the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki."

Kakashi took a sharp breath in. He'd known Uzumaki Kushina. He hadn't known about that however.

"Going into labour weakened the seal that contained the Kyuubi and let it loose. Minato made a decision and sealed the Kyuubi in a new host. He sealed it inside his newborn son." Sakumo especially couldn't look at Kakashi at this moment. "A son that I lost shortly after being given the title of Godaime Hokage."

In an instant Kakashi was on his feet, looking down at his father with a wave of mixed emotions. Shock, anger, horror and many more were painted across his eyes in place of the words that took longer to come than they should have. "I asked you so many times about Minato-sensei's child!" he yelled. "You told me he was being raised out of the public eye for his own safety!"

"And that was how it should have been!" Sakumo exclaimed. Kakashi stopped his yelling, but stayed on his feet, waiting for his father to explain himself. Sakumo took a second and rubbed his eyes before he continued. "I put the boy in the hands of someone I was sure could be trusted. That man was supposed to take the boy and raise him outside of the village. The villagers would forget about the boy and he would have returned to Konoha later to live anonymously!"

"Then what happened?!"

Sakumo turned to look his son in the eyes. Then he turned back in his chair to face Kakashi completely. This wasn't the time to avert himself. "The ninja I entrusted the boy to sent periodic reports to me about the boy's development." He explained. "And after a year I sent someone out to check up on the boy to get a proper analysis of his upbringing. It was then that I found out that the ninja had written a large stack of reports ahead of time and paid a courier to deliver them once a month. By the time we found this out, neither he nor the boy were anywhere to be found."

Several seconds passed in silence as Kakashi hovered over his father, the anger draining away to be replaced with more depressive feelings. He dropped back into the chair and buried his face in his hand, while Sakumo carried on in a quieter voice.

"The only people who knew were myself, the ninja sent to check up on the boy and the Sandaime." He said softly. "Sarutobi-sama advised me to keep the whole thing quiet until we picked up the traitor's trail. We were sure that the boy had been taken to another village to be sold or something as such. If I hadn't been careful about how I searched, we could very well have started another war. But as a result the search was slow. It took us nine years before we heard a report about a man fitting the description of the traitor, accompanied by a child. The reason it took so long was because the traitor had integrated himself into a group of felons that kept well to themselves."

Another silence came as Sakumo looked meaningfully at his son. Kakashi didn't need any further cue. The slow dropping of his jaw was indication enough that he understood what he was being told. "The Chain Breakers!" he breathed.

Sakumo nodded with a wistful smile. "I sent three teams to track down the gang." He said. "It's my hope that within a month they'll return with the boy in hand." He then gave his son a more serious look. "This is why I want you to wait until next year before you pick up a team. I'm certain that the boy has been trained in the ninja arts. That man isn't the sort that would just let the boy's power stagnate like that. If everything goes as I hope it does, I want to put him in your charge."

Kakashi thought for a short instant. He then bobbed his head in a nod. "Yeah, I've got no problem with that." He said quietly.

The two Hatakes went for several minutes without saying anything then, both far too deep in thought about what the near future might bring to even continue their discussion. After a while Sakumo decided to try and diffuse the situation. If there was one thing he held great disdain for, it was working on a heavy heart.

"There's no doubt the boy is going to be a challenge." He said with a smile. He picked up his pen and chewed the tip while staring off into space. "Being brought up in a group like that is bound to have some effect. You might have your work cut out for you this time." He looked at his son with a thin grin. "Well, I suppose we'll have to wait to see the damage-"

A sharp knocking at the door disrupted Sakumo's words. The interruption was quick and heated, immediately putting him and Kakashi on alert. Sakumo called out to the person on the other side to come in, and come in the person did. It was one of the secretaries that entered the room, looking rather out of breath. That was rarely a good sign.

"Hokage-sama, I just received a call from the Konoha Military Police Force!" she gasped, wiping her sweating brow. "They wanted me to inform you that they have one Uzumaki Naruto in custody!"

Sakumo and Kakashi stared at the secretary as if she were on fire. Aside from the sounds of her panting for breath and the whirring of the air conditioner, there was nothing to hear or say. It wasn't until Sakumo's pen fell out of his hand, clattering on the floor, that the silence was broken enough for him to speak.

"Could you repeat that?"


	2. Chapter 2

Well, your voices have been heard! I'm happy to present the second chapter of Bandit Butler Naruto! Of course I'd really appreciate it if I continued to hear your voices. Nothing's worse for a writer's motivation than to think no one's really interested. That said I'm going to continue to try and earn those responses, so just watch this space for more and as always, please enjoy!

* * *

**Making buddies**

The classroom was quiet that bright, sunny morning. That was possibly due to the fact that there wasn't a single living soul inside it. It was too early for class to begin and even the most diligent of students didn't want to come in and spend the rest of the time before first period began sitting on their butts and watching the clock. Everyone was outside, walking the last sleep from their joints and quizzing each other about their results from the previous exam.

The door to the classroom slid open and broke the humble silence with the presence of someone with reason to come in so early. That person was none other than Sasuke, who came into the classroom with a conspicuous look upon his face. He had needed to utilise the best of his stealth abilities in order to get this far undetected. The girls in his year, and even his female underclassmen for that matter, where always very enthusiastic about greeting him in the mornings. Normally he took this in his stride, but on this occasion he had something he wanted to do. Just a bit of fun really.

He came to his favourite seat in the classroom; one that gave a window view that reached out as far as the street outside the gates. There were still other students coming in, and more than one rabble of females hovering in anticipation, wondering where _he_ was. Sasuke couldn't help but smirk to himself as he slung his satchel off his back and dropped it on the desk. He had about fifteen minutes before the punctual ones made their early arrival, and he didn't want to be caught with his pants around his ankles. Literally.

With the haste to account for the off chance of an earlier arrival than usual, but also with the care to not draw the attention of anyone outside, Sasuke began pulling his clothes off and dropping them on the desk. Once he was down to his skivvies he reached inside his satchel and pulled out a second set of clothes, which he climbed into just as quickly as he had undressed. By the time he was cleaned up and slipping his satchel filled with his old clothes under the desk, he was a new man completely. Like someone right out of a host club as a matter of fact.

Though his father didn't approve of him wearing such things, and his mother certainly hadn't intended them to be used in such a way when she bought them, the silk shirt and suit pants combo were quite the catching pair on Sasuke, especially when coupled with the tiger fang necklace he'd been given as a gift from a travelling uncle of his. With the exam period and two week vacation over with however, and this being the first day back, he thought he'd take the chance to see just how much he could stimulate the female members of his class.

With everything in place all Sasuke had to do was wait until the rest of the class started to wander in. That gave him some time to figure out how he wanted to play on their reactions. He sat back and relaxed for a while, holding his hands behind his head and crossing a foot over his knee. Satisfied with his pose, he took a glance out the window to see how things were outside. He almost had a heart attack when he realised someone was looking in. Doubly so when he saw who it was.

The boy from the police station three weeks ago. He was standing outside the window, staring straight at Sasuke with a familiar grin. His clothes hadn't changed even in the slightest detail, down to the hood that covered half his face or the bareness of his front torso. There was one thing different however. He had a katana strapped to his back. Presumably the one that had been confiscated. Seeing the glint of the hilt and the glint in the boy's eyes, Sasuke couldn't help but feel a little unnerved.

People outside were staring at the boy, wondering who he was and where he came from. Sasuke only knew a little more than them, and even then it was only what he'd heard at the police station before his father hurried off to send a message. This boy was named Uzumaki Naruto if he recalled correctly. He had snuck into the village and resisted arrest, getting himself locked up in the process. Aside from that, the only other thing he had to go on was the look on his parents' faces when they realised who this Naruto was. It was enough to tell Sasuke that this guy was a big deal.

"Ya mind openin' up?"

Naruto's voice was clear even through the glass. There was a distinct sensation in his tone that suggested he was only asking Sasuke in order to save the mess of breaking through the glass on his own. Not wishing to be showered in broken glass, Sasuke got to his feet and lifted the window up, staying on guard all the while. When he did, and there was no glass between the two of them anymore, Naruto's expression cooled considerably. Sasuke sat back down at the desk, and with him out of the way Naruto vaulted inside, landing on that very same desk.

Naruto took a few steps across the desk and slid off, landing in the seat next to Sasuke. He lifted off his katana, sheath and strap alike, and set it down on the desk so he could slouch peacefully on the bench. He closed his eyes and rubbed them with the back of his hand, massaging the dark rings that indicated a lack of proper sleep. Then he cast a glance to Sasuke, and noticed that the dark haired boy was doing his best not to look like he was staring. His best wasn't quite good enough though.

"Thanks." Naruto said, turning in his seat to face Sasuke. "The guy only pointed the room out to me from the outside, and I didn't wanna try my luck with the hallway." He extended a hand to Sasuke. "Name's Uzumaki Naruto."

For a second Sasuke didn't know how to respond, but basic etiquette had him accepting Naruto's hand and shaking it firmly. "Uchiha Sasuke." He said, while trying not to give too strange a look to Naruto. "You're a student here?"

"Am now." Naruto replied, taking the chance to check out the classroom from the inside. "Guess you could call me a transfer student, though technically I'm not really coming _from_ anywhere."

Naruto turned around on the bench to check out a broader scope of the classroom, giving Sasuke ample opportunity to in turn check out Naruto. Somehow he didn't seem the same as the boy he'd seen at the police station three weeks ago. Back then he had appeared so much more… _hostile_. He'd looked at both Sasuke and his mother as if they were meat and he was a hungry wolf. Right now however, he saw none of that. Maybe Sasuke had just overreacted from the atmosphere back then. Whatever the case, he didn't feel as much of a need to be on guard as he thought he did. Still, it didn't hurt to ask.

"Before… you were in the police station." He said, choosing his words carefully.

Naruto looked at Sasuke quickly, searching his face with a quizzical expression. It was a full ten seconds before he reached any form of conclusion, but when he did it was more overblown than Sasuke expected. "So _that's_ where I recognise you from!" he excitedly exclaimed, suddenly throwing all his attention at Sasuke. He must have realised then that Sasuke had been trying to ask him about that occasion, because he dropped back from his feet to his rear and altered the course of the topic in such a direction. "Yeah, I saw the guard guys and figured they'd wanna see papers. But I don't really have any kind of ID, so I thought I'd just try my luck and sneak past 'em. Didn't turn out like I hoped."

It was an unusual story that brought a few questions to Sasuke's mind, but before he could bring himself to ask any the door to the classroom opened and one of the early birds made their entrance. In an instant both Naruto and the newcomer, Aburame Shino, were locked in a vice grip stare that Sasuke couldn't hope to get between even if he had a wrecking ball.

Shino spent several moments standing in the one spot, studying Naruto from behind his sunglasses. Naruto didn't go that far himself, but he couldn't deny interest in this odd figure that was showing him such silent consideration. Eventually however Shino broke off his stare and redirected his attention to Sasuke, sparing only a few seconds to gloss over the Uchiha's unusual dress before raising his voice.

"Is this a friend of yours, Uchiha-san?" Shino enquired, before looking back at Naruto. "It would be best if you were on your way. Because class will be starting soon and the only ones permitted on these grounds during hours are staff, students and ninja."

"Relax Shino-san. This guy's a transfer student." Sasuke explained. This however did not seem to satisfy the Aburame.

"A transfer student?" he repeated with a frown. "Unlikely. Why, you ask? Because a transfer student implies someone that has come from one educational institution to another. Since there are no other ninja academies inside of Fire Country that could only mean that he was transferred from another ninja village, which is unlikely because-"

"Whoa whoa whoa!" Naruto exclaimed, waving his hands to silence Shino. The Aburame clearly wasn't pleased with being interrupted, but he gave Naruto room to talk. "Gimme a little warning before ya open that thing!" he said in a joke that did not amuse Shino one bit. "I got homeschooled alright? My sensei said it was time to get into the business and sent me up here. Hokage was pretty happy to let me in, so here I am!"

Naturally Shino saw a number of flaws in that story, particularly in regard to someone being allowed into the academy immediately after the exam period. But Naruto vouched for himself so much so that Shino was willing to put the matter to rest. At the very least when their instructor arrived Naruto's story would either be confirmed or rejected. That would be sufficient to appease Shino's curiosity.

While the Aburame was thinking all this he crossed the classroom and headed towards his preferred seat at the back. This left Naruto and Sasuke watching him strangely, not sure if Shino was satisfied with Naruto's explanation or irritated by having his logic treated so rudely by the offending party. Whatever the case, by the time Shino was seated the other two had diverted their attention. Naruto scratched his head in bewildered confusion while Sasuke gave him a sympathetic smirk.

"You sure know how to put your best foot forward don't you?" he asked.

For a few seconds it didn't look like Naruto was listening to him. He appeared to be too wrapped up in his own thoughts. Sasuke settled for watching him then, wondering just who this strange guy was. But then out of nowhere Naruto grabbed his sword and stood up on his seat, fixing a rather unnerving stare upon Shino, who met him with a scrutinising leer.

"Is there something you wish to say?" the Aburame asked. He eyed the katana in Naruto's hand. "Unsupervised fighting is prohibited. But if you attack me I'll have no choice but to fight back."

The undertone of a threat that lingered under Shino's breath brought about a grin to Naruto more ferocious than he had displayed so far. The air crackled with electricity as Sasuke looked between the two of them, wondering if he was about to be dragged into something dangerous. He wasn't experienced in the area, but he was sure he could feel something really messed up coming from Naruto. It was almost as if the strange boy wanted an excuse to unsheathe that katana and cut Shino down.

And then the bell rang.

The dull ringing permeated through the walls of the hallway and bounced around the classroom, leaving through the open window and joining the din of its sister bell outside. For the duration of the noise not a movement was made between the three young males as two out of three continued to stare each other down.

Then the ringing ceased, and the sounds of footsteps began.

"What're you talking about?" Naruto asked, relaxing his stance and smirking. "I just realised I know your name but you don't know mine. Didn't seem fair. Uzumaki Naruto."

A long pause came as both Shino and Sasuke were thrown by Naruto's display of… _something._ It sufficed to say that neither of them knew what to make of the hooded boy or his strange mannerisms. But as the footsteps drew nearer and the classroom door opened, Shino decided to close the matter in as neatly a way as possible.

"Aburame Shino." He said, before taking out a book from his bag and burying himself in it.

Satisfied, Naruto turned around and dropped onto the bench, laying out his katana back on the desk. He busied himself in studying the number of students that wandered into the classroom in fragmented groups, eying them up as they did him. As expected, there wasn't a single person who wasn't curious about his presence. As equally expected, there wasn't one of them with the balls to do more than glance at him uncomfortably. In that sense, Aburame Shino wasn't so bad in his books.

"Hey, Sasuke-san." Naruto spoke without doing more than inclining his head but a couple of degrees in Sasuke's direction, and certainly without taking his eyes off the students making their way inside. "I got a favour to ask ya. I'm looking to make some buddies. Think you could point out some people to me?"

Sasuke had only just managed to recollect himself from Naruto's very peculiar introduction with Shino. This was why he cocked a brow at this request, since getting a read on this odd boy was proving to be a tricky task. "No problem." He responded. "What kind of people are you interested in?"

At this he got a cursory glance from Naruto, one equipped with a cocky smirk. "The kind of people that'd be good to make buddies with." He said. "Long run style."

Now this drew more than just Sasuke's attention. It led him to look at Naruto in an entirely different way. He saw the strange boy less as the worrying individual with a blade at the ready and more like… well, someone he could understand a little better. Shifting in his seat to get a better look both at Naruto and his classmates making their way in, he adopted a cool smile coupled with an intrigued glimmer in his eyes.

"Looking for connections?" he asked, watching the door. "I can help you with that. Not just yet though." His smile grew. "I've got a little situation to deal with before that."

It was Naruto's turn to give Sasuke the look of intrigue, but he was distracted almost immediately by a sound that made his ears ring. Wincing, he turned to the doorway and saw that a sizable group of girls had come into the classroom, all of them staring at Sasuke with hearts in their eyes. Just as he realised that the ear piercing sound he had heard was a resounding "KYA!", the girls rushed forward, brimming with excitement.

"SASUKE-KUN!"

Naruto was almost forced to duck for cover at the stampede of femininity coming his way. It looked like the sight of Sasuke dressed as he was had given them an awful case of tunnel vision, for they were storming the bench below and even climbing over Naruto just to get close to Sasuke, who embraced their enthusiasm with a stoic smile that was eerily believable even from Naruto's perspective.

"The hell?!" Naruto couldn't help but exclaiming his shock at this mindboggling situation. Despite never in his life wondering what a girl acting like an excited puppy would look like, he was forced to witness not one, but _several_ cases of this. He wasn't going to say anything, but then he noticed one of the girls kneeling over his katana and panicked. "HEY WATCH IT!"

The act of grabbing his sword and pulling it to his chest served to break the concentration the girls had on Sasuke, and allowed them for the first time to notice that Naruto was even there to begin with. Suddenly it wasn't the dressed up guy beside him that was getting all their attention, but he himself. Somehow being the centre of attention from a group of decently pretty to outright attractive girls was not as awesome as he'd expected.

Seven pairs of female eyes all bore into him, searching the face of this new boy that had entered their midst. Their gazes drew from his round blue eyes, down to his well defined muscles and immediately he felt himself being assessed. When blank expressions started to show traces of blushing on every girl's face, Naruto primed himself to make a hasty exit. He was _not_ prepared for this!

Just as he was about to make a dash something caught the back of his senses. He looked from the corner of his eye to the guy sitting next to him, and could almost see the furious flames spilling out of what was on its own nothing more than an annoyed leer. Without even intending to it seemed he had managed to ruin Sasuke's attempts at doing whatever the hell it was he was attempting to do.

"Good morning Sasuke-kun!"

Naruto and Sasuke looked over their shoulders to the new voice that called out to the latter of the two. Behind them, at the desk above, a girl Naruto hadn't noticed was leaning forward with about as casual a pose as she could muster while still putting herself far enough forward to show her best features. Boy were they some features. Where the seven girls in front went as far as outright attractive, this girl was on a higher tier. It was hard to look at her and not think indecent thoughts.

"Good morning to you too Ino-chan." Sasuke had his game face on in an instant and flashed the girl his best charms. Naruto figured that directed at any of the girls in front, they would have swooned. With this girl, Ino, however, the effects were not quite as strong. She smiled widely in return, clearly happy to receive such attention, but it didn't take her long to switch her own attentions to Naruto.

"Who's the new guy?" she asked, studying him every bit as diligently as the now pouting girls in front had. But unlike them she didn't indicate any obvious reaction to Naruto's physique. In fact the best one could describe her response to Naruto's appearance would be "mildly interested".

"This is Uzumaki Naruto." Sasuke said, almost succeeding in hiding the slightly peeved tone in his voice. Naruto caught it however and cast Sasuke a knowing grin. A grin that Sasuke did absolutely everything in his power to ignore. "I met him a few weeks ago when he was locked up in a jail cell."

That would do the job of putting off the girls who were currently looking at Naruto, Sasuke believed. Shame then that it instead served only to heighten the interest Ino was sending to Naruto. "What were you doing locked up Naruto-kun?" she asked with a smile.

Feeling the silent fury emanating off of Sasuke, Naruto couldn't help but play on the atmosphere. "Not much, just walked into the village without a passport." He said with an aloof gesture. "Gave this one guy the run around for a while… uh, what was his name?" he looked at Sasuke. "Kinda looked like this guy over here. Inabi?"

"Uchiha Inabi." Sasuke reluctantly admitted.

"Wait a second, you gave an _Uchiha_ the run around?!" Ino exclaimed, showing more than a little intrigue by now.

Naruto shrugged. "I guess I did." He then looked at Sasuke. "Sounds like you Uchiha guys got a bit of a reputation."

"Well of course!" cried out one of the girls, one of the few that hadn't reacted in such an exaggerated manner to seeing Naruto. "The Uchiha run the entire police force and special forces! Sasuke-kun here is the son of the clan head _and _the police chief!"

Sasuke hissed at the girl, frightening her into falling off the desk she was currently crouching on and causing a good bit of bother to the boy on the bench below. He often enjoyed the company of the females in his class, but there were several of them that he'd known from the start would never make it as a ninja. That girl there had too big a mouth for her own good. Even an academy student like Sasuke had known better than to just tell official positions to a stranger like-

During his thought he'd looked in Naruto's direction, and it was that act that brought those thoughts to a standstill. Naruto was watching him from the corner of his eye, and was showing that same unnerving stare he'd worn at the police department. It worried Sasuke a great deal to know that the unwanted revelation had warranted such a response from this unknown person. Just who the hell was he?!

The moment passed then when Naruto smoothly turned his eyes away from Sasuke and looked to the mess of girls in front of him. Some of them were giving worried looks to Sasuke, unaware of what had made him so angry so quickly. Others were looking at their fallen sister who had landed in a very compromising position with the boy in front, both of them paralysed by shock and embarrassment. Others still were looking directly at Naruto, having noticed the look he'd given Sasuke but not knowing the reason why. Naruto decided to have a little fun of his own and flashed them the intense look he'd given to Sasuke right there. To his surprise, their blushes turned to full faced flushes.

All of a sudden a sharp whistling disrupted the air and the girls quickly abandoned their fixations in favour of heading towards their favourite seats before they were forced to settle for whatever was nearest. Thoroughly confused by this development, Naruto looked to see one of the male students retreating from the door and heading to his own seat.

"What's going on?" he asked Sasuke, watching the door for whatever was about to come.

Sasuke hesitated for a moment, not sure just how much he could safely tell this person. But both his games, of playing with the girls and finding out stuff about Naruto, had been severely disrupted. He needed to work carefully to fix that situation. He wasn't happy with the imbalance of information between the two. In order to fix that, he needed to be cooperative.

He looked at the door and a great deal of the emotion drained from his face. "The top student in the class always makes her entrance just before our sensei arrives." He said, watching with a great deal less interest than Naruto.

Naruto's ears pricked at the sound of "top student in the class". Now there was little that could tear his eyes away from the door. He wished the rest of the students in the classroom would quit talking among themselves so he could hear the footsteps out in the corridor, but as it was all he had was sight to go on. Lucky for him he didn't have long to wait. The door was pulled open, and a girl walked in.

She was unlike anyone else in the room. But that could be taken as good or bad depending on how you looked at her. Her hair was short and pink, a feathered fringe obscuring green eyes. She was pretty, but she had other, much more distracting details. Details such as the numerous plasters covering her hands and fingers, the bandage around her arm and the gauze on her cheek. She was eye catching in every sense, and yet for some reason she troubled Naruto in a strange, unfathomable way.

Sasuke took notice of the level of attention Naruto was giving to the girl, and took it as an opportunity to pick up on a couple of things. He leaned in towards Naruto and murmured in a low enough voice that only Naruto could hear. "That's Haruno Sakura, highest ranking student and least popular girl in the entire year." He said, looking at Naruto studiously. "She your type?"

The girl, Sakura, paused when she was midway across the floor of the room. A quick scout led her to see only one empty seat in the entire class. That search led her to settle her eyes on Naruto and realise she was being watched. Most people would have looked away, but Naruto continued to watch as she came nearer and nearer, until she was sitting down beside him in the last available spot. After a few seconds of looking dead ahead, she turned to Naruto and asked a single question with her eyes alone. "What?"

Naruto ceased his staring to avoid giving an answer. Sakura had no problem with ignoring the issue and returned to waiting silently for the instructor to come. Sure enough as Sasuke had said the instructor wasn't far behind Sakura. He came into the room and closed the door behind him, looking over a register as he made his way to the centre of the floor.

"Good morning everyone, I hope you all enjoyed your vacation." Said Umino Iruka, lifting his eyes from the register to look around the room. He was searching for something, and it didn't take him long to find it. "Ah, there you are." He said, looking straight at Naruto. "Everyone, as you may have noticed we have a new student joining our class. His name is…"

* * *

The morning interval came sharply at eleven o'clock and the students of the academy made their way to their favourite haunts for the half hour that was theirs to enjoy. Cliques gathered together and small duos hung around whatever spot provided the best shade, the best view or maybe just close access to the nearest vending machine.

Sasuke sat in the courtyard after having changed back into his more practical attire. The effect of dressing up had worn off and it wasn't a good idea to attend the physical lessons in clothes that weren't intended to be run through the dirt. In that sense he could see why his father disapproved of such a get up. When you went to all that effort and didn't get the payoff you wanted, you couldn't help but think that the whole thing was a waste. Of course, it didn't help that a certain stranger had to show up at the worst possible time.

"I do something to piss you off?"

Sasuke looked over his shoulder as Naruto climbed over the foliage and stone to sit down on the bench next to the sullen Uchiha. The question made Sasuke reconsider everything that had gone down. Blaming Naruto for things going wrong was just petty. Not like the guy knew what Sasuke had been trying to do with his display.

"It's fine, I just find myself without a lot of the enthusiasm I woke up with." He said while piercing a straw into a box of juice. Leaning back and sipping, he looked at Naruto and realised the new arrival was still wearing his hood up. "You know we've got some good shade in this part of the village. You don't have to hide beneath that thing."

As if to indicate that Sasuke spoke the truth, some clouds drifted in the way of the sun and made what had been a bright day a little dimmer. That along with the shade of the branches in the trees above meant that there was little to no glare to be had from direct sunlight. And common knowledge dictated that anyone who wore a hood when they didn't need to was hiding something.

"Hey now, watch what you're saying." Naruto smirked, eying the excitable girls from earlier. "My good looks have already stolen the hearts of these young ladies. You don't want them basking in my full radiance just yet."

Such unashamed arrogance couldn't be met with anything other than laughter. Sasuke looked aside while chuckling into his hand. But he hadn't missed the odd kind of attention he was getting from the girls at the moment. With Naruto around now things were starkly different to how they had been these last few years. Maybe a change in the norm wouldn't be so bad.

That was, if the guy mixing things up wasn't trying to use Sasuke to scrounge up information on the other students.

The turn in Sasuke's expression caught Naruto's eye. He gave a sideward look to the Uchiha and managed to read a great deal on his new "friend's" face. "You don't trust me, do ya?" he asked, leaning forward with his elbows on his knees. Sasuke looked at him quickly, but Naruto waved a hand before he could speak. "It's cool, I get ya. I was always taught that coming out on top is more important than getting on people's good side. Guess I'm doing a bad job breaking the habit."

The unexpected honesty coming out of Naruto's mouth made Sasuke rather uncomfortable. He wasn't used to seeing other guys act in any other way than nonchalant or with full on bravado. It made him feel a little guilt for some reason, though he couldn't quite place it. All he knew was that he didn't like feeling like this, and had to do something about it.

Just as he was about to open his mouth, Naruto jumped to his feet and climbed over the stone bench. Sasuke turned around with a surprised frown just as Naruto reached inside his jacket and pulled out two- what the hell was he going to do with kunai?! Suddenly concerned, Sasuke got to his feet to watch what Naruto was doing. But instead of throwing the kunai or anything like that, Naruto faced the nearest tree, sized it up, and jumped at it.

He didn't jump high at all, no more than two feet off the ground. When he reached the apex of his jump he stabbed into the tree with a kunai, suspending himself there with the blade. Then he swung up with his other hand and with one move at a time started to climb, all while hanging from the two blades, grunting with each movement.

By now Naruto was becoming a spectacle among those who noticed him and those who were nudged by those who noticed him. Sasuke was beginning to grow worried that he might be associated with the strange monkey boy. "What are you doing?!" he demanded quietly, trying to hide his embarrassment from the students on the other side of the courtyard.

Naruto grunted again as he lifted himself higher, grinning down at Sasuke when he had a moment to take his eye off the task. "Been sitting on my ass for three weeks now!" he replied. He lifted himself up higher and pulled out his kunai, grabbing onto the thick bough and using it to swing safely down to the ground. He then turned to Sasuke and rolled back his sleeve to his elbow, showing that his muscles weren't limited to his torso. "Barely got any time to move around with all the interviews, background checks, medical checks and so many damn questions I just wanted to break something!"

As Naruto slipped his sleeve back down and hid his kunai back inside his coat Sasuke turned his head to the side and rubbed his neck with a slight look of discomfort on his face. Whether Naruto intended it or not, Sasuke had seen through his words to the underlying truth. The Hokage and the rest of Konoha's administration had gone to great lengths to make sure that it was safe to enter a stranger like Naruto into the ninja program. Of course they did; it would be stupid for them not to. But in acknowledging that Sasuke had to look upon his own suspicions on Naruto. He had to be pretty cold to even think about isolating the new guy just because he was strange. Especially if the Hokage vouched for him.

While Sasuke was being possibly a little too harsh with himself Naruto wandered past him to take a look at the students who were returning to their business. He let out a low whistle that drew Sasuke's attention. "You know, I thought the kind of people I used to hang out with were average looking guys." He said, giving special attention to the girls. "But now I'm starting to think they were all a bunch'a ugly sons of bitches." He gave a wry smile to Sasuke. "No wonder you're trying to play them all, you greedy bastard!"

His implication staggered Sasuke both mentally and physically. He had half a mind to shush Naruto, but it was too late and thankfully no one was close enough to hear that. "Keep it down, you're going to ruin everything!" he hissed, stepping in close and putting an arm over Naruto's shoulder to murmur. "Look, after my second year here I started noticing that I got a lot of attention from the girls. It seemed like harmless fun, so I went along with it to see how they'd react. Before I knew it, I had this thing going on for five years on now. I'd appreciate it if you didn't mess it up!"

He turned Naruto to make sure they were looking eye to eye, and as a result saw in full Naruto's squinting eyes looking at him as if he wasn't quite sure Sasuke was all there. That however changed worryingly when a grin slithered across Naruto's face, stretching from one ear to the next. Sasuke felt the air grow colder and he had the notion that now was the time to brace himself for something disconcerting.

"Hey now, what're you talking about?" Naruto asked, slipping out of Sasuke's hold and putting hands on the Uchiha himself. He spoke in a silky manner that rubbed Sasuke the wrong way. "We're buddies aren't we? What kind of friend would I be if I didn't heed a little request like that?"

Sasuke swiftly felt as if a metaphysical corner was forming around him and he was being backed into it. Naruto's eyes were flashing under the shade of his hood and for yet another time Sasuke felt as if he was being dominated by this weird and unusual person who had literally jumped into his life and grabbed a foothold in no time at all.

But then just as quick as the feeling came, it dissipated as Naruto smiled and patted Sasuke on the back. "It's cool man, I'm kinda interested to see how you do things anyway." He said, looking back to the students who were once again giving him and Sasuke fleeting glances. "I'm not good at getting on people's better sides. It's kind of a flaw I'm working on. I mean, I'm not gonna be able to strong arm _every_ guy I meet right?"

There was a cocky look at that last sentence that annoyed Sasuke, but it didn't overcome the feeling of balance that came with the reassurance Naruto was giving him. He was starting to believe that Naruto was really telling the truth. His own preconceptions of Naruto paired with Naruto's poor social skills were most definitely one way to make a bad impression on somebody. Given that thought, maybe the best thing would be to give Naruto a chance.

"So about that favour I asked."

For a moment Sasuke thought about pretending that he didn't know what Naruto meant. At the very least it would give him the chance of questioning Naruto's reasons behind his almost shady request. While he had no problem accepting that the Hokage was willing to trust Naruto to enough of a degree to try and become a Konoha nin, and that Naruto was indeed not good at making friends, the nature of Naruto's request hadn't changed.

In the end though Sasuke had given his word to help Naruto out in that regard, and he wasn't in the habit of making promises he didn't intend to keep. He sat back down on the bench and was soon joined by Naruto. The two of them scanned the courtyard carefully; one searching for people who matched the description and the other trying to pick out such people without as much to go on.

"Alright, you see that gaggle of girls over there?" Sasuke said, nodding towards the water fountain close to the main doors. There was undeniably a large female presence there, but one girl among them all stood out. "You've already met Yamanaka Ino. She's the next head of the Yamanaka clan and as you can see, is fairly popular. That works both for and against you."

With a surprisingly high display of awareness Ino lifted her head from the group and looked over to Naruto and Sasuke, having realised she was being watched. She gave them a coy wink and stuck out her tongue playfully before returning to the conversations of her friends.

"What do you mean?" Naruto asked.

He didn't get an answer right away, for Sasuke was too busy being embarrassed about having been caught watching Ino. It had always been a part of his image to seem casual yet aware of the girls around him, to never seem deeply interested yet at the same time silently welcoming their presence. "Have you ever heard of the "Limit of Love"?" he asked, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly.

Naruto narrowed his eyes at Sasuke as he wondered just where the hell his new comrade was going with such a weird question. "…No." he replied.

"It's the idea that there's only so much affection for others a single person can feel." Sasuke explained, eying Ino in a more surreptitious fashion now. "The more people you surround yourself with the more thinly spread that affection becomes. Someone with only one very close friend against someone with a group of casual friends. Ino would be the latter case. She has a lot of casual friends, and if you're not careful you'll just end up one of the many that she only cares a certain amount about. If you want to get any closer than that, you absolutely can't let yourself fall into her group. You've got to step over that somehow."

That made some sense to Naruto, though not a whole lot. He was starting to realise what a tough task he was setting himself up for, but hell if he was going to quit at the first hurdle. It just needed some thought was all. "I get it, so if I wanna get close to her I can't spread myself too thinly either right?" he was more wondering aloud by that statement, and by the look of surprise on Sasuke's face he knew he was right not to expect an answer. "Alright then, guess I'll take it a couple of moves at a time. Gimme an easy one to start with."

Sasuke gave it some thought while he crossed the courtyard with his eyes in search of someone who fit the bill just right. Aburame Shino was sitting in the shade, but he was a no go from the start. Naruto was hardly off to the best start with that guy and Sasuke didn't even know enough about Shino to offer any relevant suggestions. Luckily somebody walked around the corner just as Sasuke's eyes reached that spot. The perfect person.

"There." He said, guiding Naruto with a nod. One of the boys from their class was making his rounds around the academy with a little white dog in tow. He was a guy that shared a couple of features with Naruto, his choice in headdress not the least. "Inuzuka Kiba, a rising star within his clan. If any of his bragging is to be believed then he's already making decent progress through his clan's secret Taijutsu techniques. From what I understand he's considered a genius in his own right." Sasuke smirked at this. "Though you can take "in his own right" however you want. He gets good marks in the physical examinations but he sucks at anything that doesn't involve punching, kicking or perforating someone with shuriken."

He went on to say more, but Naruto wasn't listening. He was watching the Inuzuka guy closely, taking in every detail his eyes could grant him. Kiba had the eyes of a beast, and the walk of an alpha male. His hands were held loosely at his side, his fingers twitching and fidgeting to a rhythm known only to him. Under this steady surveillance, the shade on Naruto's face appeared to grow deeper, and his eyes took on that piercing glimmer.

Perfect.

* * *

Sasuke sharply raised his arm above his head, gripping his wrist with his other hand for extra support. He acted just in time to block a strong axe kick that would have connected with his skull otherwise. He saved himself from some serious damage, but his arm hurt like hell. So much for walking out of this without any visible bruises.

The offender flipped back before he could counterattack and bounced into a fresh assault, assailing Sasuke with attempted grabs and throws that when blocked transitioned beautifully into jabs and kicks that did little damage, but hit his sore spots with glaring force. When he finally found an opening to make his own move, he acted on it so fast he nearly screwed up altogether. He managed to divert a punch aimed at his face and step into the attack, striking his opponent's jaw with the base of his palm.

The opponent's head snapped back from the blow, but the movement was followed with a quick kick that drove Sasuke back and allowed said opponent that time to recover. When that time passed, she looked at Sasuke with a concentrated glare, rubbing her chin with the back of her hand. It was the first blow Sasuke had managed to land on Sakura, though not for lack of trying.

The crowd was cheering on the two combatants in a much more refined manner than when they were younger, yet still getting their feelings across pretty damn well. Naturally almost all the girls were calling out their support for Sasuke, while some of the more jealous boys overcame their feelings towards Sakura in the hope she'd mess up the pretty boy's face a little.

Naruto kept himself to the back of the crowd, but maintained a decent enough line of sight to see what was going on. He cursed his lack of height that forced him to perch on a window sill to see the fight. But it gave him a higher perspective, which certainly wasn't a bad thing. And since he'd been forbidden from carrying his katana out here, it was comforting to at least be able to sit with it nearby, inside. There was one other benefit to being up here though.

"Hot _damn!_" he exhaled, cringing as Sakura slithered into Sasuke's punch and wrapped her leg around his ankle, throwing the Uchiha to the ground and striking with the back of her head to make sure his hit the dirt. She rolled off a split second later while Sasuke was gripping his aching head, readying her stance for when he managed to get back to his feet. "Does she hate that guy or something?"

"Yeah, but that doesn't have anything to do with this." Said Ino, who sat upon the sill of the window neighbouring Naruto's perch. "Sakura doesn't hold back no matter who she's fighting, and with Sasuke-kun being the only one in her tier when it comes to Taijutsu it's natural that he's her opponent. Those two have been fighting each other for years now."

Naruto let out a whistle as Sasuke got to his feet and resumed his stance. There was no blood, but Naruto could clearly see the signs of disorientation from the light swaying going on right now. The top male of the class staggered forward into a clumsy grab that Sakura countered with a straight punch. But at the last second Sasuke's dizziness magically disappeared and he grabbed Sakura's wrist, pulling her in and throwing his forehead against hers in a heavy head butt. Naruto winced as Sakura cried out and stumbled back.

"Of course Sasuke-kun always makes sure to give it his all too." Ino added with a smile.

Before the fight could get any dirtier Iruka blew into his whistle and ended the spar on the spot. Both combatants had fallen on their rear; Sakura from the blow she'd just received and Sasuke from the collective impacts of two blows to the head. Iruka and another instructor named Mizuki checked on both Sakura and Sasuke for signs of concussions before helping them both to their feet. Iruka gave an instruction for the two of them to make some sort of "gesture" and they approached each other to perform some weird two fingered handshake. When that was done they promptly turned away from each other and headed to different sides of the crowd.

Naruto looked at Sasuke, who was supporting the back of neck with both hands, using the relaxed pose to hide his need to nurse his head. The disguise didn't work too well, as shown by one of the bolder girls who came over offering to check Sasuke's head for him. She might have been successful had some of the other girls not noticed and decided to act in kind, attempting to check out all of Sasuke's wounds no matter how slight. It led to Sasuke brushing them all off, acting like he was totally fine. Naruto could see otherwise, but he wasn't about to be a dick and call Sasuke out on it.

"How the hell does that guy manage to be so popular with the girls?" he pretended to wonder out loud.

Ino was watching the crowd of girls with what she must have believed to be a suitably passive expression. Except there was clearly a snide quality to it that wasn't exactly becoming. "I hope you're not grouping _me_ together with _them_." She said in a not too subtle way. "_They_ barely made the cut this year and are trying to grab a hold on Sasuke-kun in case they don't graduate and lose their chance completely."

Naruto gave her a suggestive look, but she was too busy watching to make sure none of the girls got too handsy with "Sasuke-kun". He would have left her to it if not for the fact he wasn't satisfied with her answer. "I guess there's more than a bit of glamour to the idea of being attached to the son of the police chief and head of the Uchiha." It sounded like a statement, and it was meant to. But it was really a question, and one that Ino was willing to answer. In her own way.

"Please, if any of them were that devious they wouldn't be the bottom of the barrel!" she remarked. Naruto had to hold back a laugh at her brazenness. He really wasn't expecting this Yamanaka Ino to have such a mouth on her. "Sasuke-kun started this whole thing when he first started receiving love letters. I'm sure he's just being nice to them to give them some good memories before they have to sign up to the police force or get civilian jobs or something."

By now Naruto could hardly tear his eyes away from Ino. Observant _and_ outspoken. That could be a dangerous combo. At the very least it gave Naruto a little faith in his fellow classmates that he wasn't the only one who saw the game Sasuke was playing.

Ino caught him staring at her and offered him a wink. "Of course, looks and status aren't _everything_." She coyly said. "A guy also has to have a bit of a wild side, don't you think?"

Caught off guard by the sudden change of topic, Naruto responded with a grin that could certainly be called "wild" and let his eyes wander over the class. While he'd been otherwise occupied Iruka had called out another pair of students to spar in front of the class. Naruto was growing a little anxious, wondering when his turn would arrive. Watching the crowd was the only way to keep himself busy. That brought his attention to Sakura for the second time.

Unlike Sasuke, Sakura seemed to have recovered completely from their spar. Also unlike Sasuke she had not integrated herself into the crowd. Quite the opposite in fact. She had found a corner of the building to sit down in and had taken out a book from the backpack she had brought with her. Naruto couldn't confirm it, but the book looked to be a textbook. Sasuke hadn't been kidding about her work habits.

On closer inspection he noticed that the anger and strength that she had displayed during her spar had settled down completely, to the point where she only resembled the fierce girl from a few minutes ago by superficial means. In a sharp contrast to that she looked quite calm, serene in fact, as she read through her textbook. There was also something to be seen in the distance she kept from the rest of the class.

A collective gasp from the crowd brought Naruto's attention back to the ongoing spar, where an interesting development had just taken place. One of the combatants had managed to pull his opponent into an arm lock. At first Naruto thought the class was overreacting. He'd seen that move a few times in his training. But then he noticed the glint of the blade, and a smile played across his face. The guy with his arm locked had a kunai in his free hand with the tip poking his opponent's inner thigh. One quick cut and the guy's femoral artery would develop a very nasty leak. That fight was over.

Iruka blew his whistle and the guy with the moves released the guy with the knife. The two of them got to their feet, the victor looking worse off than the loser. Just like with Sasuke and Sakura the two of them were made to do that weird handshake and go their separate ways. The victor slouched off to one side to join his tubby friend, who offered him a grin and a pat on the back.

"_Didn't think these guys would be so rough!"_ Naruto thought with a smile of his own.

Iruka and Mizuki came together after the two students were off the stage and whispered into each other's ears. It didn't seem like all that much until both of them glanced Naruto's way. That made him perk up considerably. They were talking about him. Who wouldn't be interested?

After a half minute of quiet discussion Iruka and Mizuki stepped away from each other and Iruka raised his voice. "Alright, Naruto." He said, looking directly at the person in question. "Now you've seen how it's done why don't you come here and show us what you can do?"

In an instant Naruto felt all eyes fall upon them, all of them curious and none of them subtle. He didn't mind the attention at all, but neither was he interested in it. The blood was starting to pump a little bit faster through his veins as his heart prepared itself for what was soon to come. "You wanna see wild?" he said, sliding off the window with a quick glance at Ino. "Beautiful, you don't even know what that means."

The class parted to watch the new guy heading towards the sparring field. When he started to pull his arms out of his sleeves, everyone made sure they had a clear line of sight in time for him removing his jacket. In doing so they all saw one hell of a spiky fringe to what was otherwise neat blond hair tied back in a short ponytail. There were also the whisker markings on his face to draw the eye. But more importantly they got to see the full scope of his muscles. He wasn't built like a ninja. He was built like a fighter. And not only that. He was a fighter who'd been inked.

On either arm, near the shoulder, there was a red spiral that was familiar to each and every student in the class. It was the same spiral that was on the back of almost every ninja in Konoha ranked Chunin or above. But there was a difference. Those spirals were bound in chains that were wrapped around Naruto's arms. And in the centre of these wrapped chains there was a single, shattered link. A broken chain.

Dropping his jacket at the front of the crowd, Naruto found his way to the centre of the sparring field and turned on the class. He liked the way they were all looking at him. Not one of them could figure out just what they were looking at. He'd given quick looks to the people he'd come to know at least a little. Sasuke didn't show anything on his face. He definitely had Ino's attention. Little could be seen of Shino's face. Sakura's eyes were just peering over her book, giving nothing away.

Iruka and Mizuki both looked at Naruto's back, trying not to show their distaste at his physique. It was far from the kind of build either of them would recommend for a student. A full-fledged ninja with a few years of combat experience could maybe handle it ok, but they seriously doubted this eleven year old boy had such credentials under his belt.

"And for your opponent…" Iruka announced, looking through the crowd. "Inuzuka Kiba, come forward."

Naruto had to try not to look excited as that name was called out, or as the boy bearing that name stepped forward. Inuzuka Kiba paused at the front of the class to remove his little dog from his jacket and sit it down on the ground. He then joined Naruto on the grounds and faced him, wearing quite the sharp toothed grin. It was a grin Naruto recognised well. He had seen it in the mirror so many times.

"Guess I'll be the one to break in the newbie!" Kiba declared with great confidence.

Naruto laughed out loud at Kiba's remark and showed the cocky bastard his own resolution. "Ya think I'm gonna let you ruin my academy debut?" he asked while showing a face that told Kiba exactly how ridiculous he thought that notion was. "When I'm through with you you're gonna look like such a little bitch your dog over there's gonna get real hard just lookin' at ya!"

That wiped the smile clean off of Kiba's face and put in its place a bitter scowl. The instructors both shared a weary glance at what they knew was not going to be a neat match. The rest of the class was mixed between those put off by Naruto's vulgar trash talk and those who were amused by it. For the most part it seemed Kiba's bravado was working against him, because the divide between those two parties was in Naruto's favour.

Iruka coughed into his hand to draw the attention back to a more professional note. "Naruto, when we start a spar it is customary for both sides to make the sign of the ninja." He said, referring to that hand sign the other combatants had made before the start of their match. "It's an acknowledgement of respect to your opponent and the understanding that you will conduct yourself in a fashion that is to be expected of comrades participating in a friendly fight."

Naruto indicated his understanding with a quick salute, though really he didn't see etiquette as a realistic ideal in this fight. Kiba looked like he was just waiting for the signal to begin. That was just fine, because Naruto was as eager to start as he was. Iruka raised his whistle to his lips, and after both combatants made the sign of the ninja, he blew into it.

Kiba jumped back to make some distance between him and Naruto and to take on his combative stance. He kept himself low to the ground and put his hands together in a tiger seal. A second later he fixed his stance and supported himself on all fours. Strangely, his body changed a little. His nails grew to sharpened points and his face took on a more feral appearance. In no time at all he looked less like an eleven year old boy and more like a beast in a boy's skin.

Naruto's smile slipped across one side of his face as he took on his own stance. He raised his cloth wrapped fists before his face and turned his body ever so slightly. Then he raised himself onto the balls of his feet and started lightly bouncing from one to the next, forming a steady rhythm with each step. His body was limber and his posture impressive. Both Iruka and Mizuki couldn't help but look closely at how Naruto held himself.

"_Is that… boxing?"_ Iruka thought with a squint.

Like the crack of a whip Kiba suddenly launched himself at Naruto with a ferocious swipe of his clawed hand. But his strike met empty air as Naruto ducked underneath the attack and moved in for the counter. His fist shot out for Kiba's face, aimed straight for his nose. Somehow however Kiba managed to pivot himself around the attack and follow up his own failed strike with a sharp backhand.

The hit made its mark and slashed Naruto's cheek open, adding four bloody lines to the markings on his face. Naruto hissed at the pain but wasn't distracted by it. With impressive reflexes he pulled himself around and fired another punch that struck Kiba in the back of the head even as he was still descending from his lunge.

Thrown from the force of the punch Kiba rolled across the ground, landing on his hands and feet. Yet before he could even take stock Naruto was right in front of him, diving for the sole purpose of getting low enough to punch Kiba in the face. It was another successful hit, and one that knocked Kiba from his feet. Naruto rolled over on his back and righted himself in a second, launching himself at his now prone opponent. Kiba had no idea what was going on when he was lifted from the scruff of his neck and tossed up into the air. He had a faint idea though when two rapid punches to his stomach knocked the wind out of his lungs.

The class was silently watching the fight, without even a note of their vigour from before. They watched as Kiba barely managed to regain his balance and slide across the ground, but remain on his own two feet. At a distance from him Naruto was continuing to bounce from one foot to the next. The blood was flowing from his cheek down his neck. The sight of such an injury made Iruka panic and hastily lift the whistle to his lips.

"Y'know my sensei always said the blood rushes to my head too fast!"

Naruto continued to grin as if he was having the time of his life. He wiped his face with the back of his hand, smearing the cloth wrap in blood, and showing the cuts that had been made to his face. They weren't nearly as deep as everyone thought they were. In fact they were so shallow that no one could believe they bled that much. Even Kiba, upon collecting himself enough to see what was going on, was stunned to see so much blood from what was clearly not a heavy wound.

The overall strangeness of the matter made Iruka pause long enough for Naruto to flash him a wink and a thumbs up. Against his better judgement Iruka lowered his whistle and decided to watch what happened instead. Naruto turned back to Kiba, who was looking pretty unsettled from all the blood. Queasy in fact. Naruto noticed the Inuzuka boy's nose was twitching a lot. It made him wonder.

"Hey." He said, his eyes flashing again. "You wouldn't happen to have a sensitive nose would ya?"

Kiba flinched more from the look on Naruto's face than the question itself. It was as if the light itself couldn't bear to look upon him, leaving only those two blue rings to shine in the shadows. Kiba knew now what was so unsettling about this guy's face. He didn't wear some huge monstrous grin like a creature waiting to devour a child. He didn't have to. The eyes did all the work for him.

The seconds passed without Kiba even noticing. Before long even the crowd was growing impatient from the lack of action. Then one of the rowdier boys whistled with his fingers to snap Kiba out of his daze. "Hey Inuzuka, you scared?!" the boy asked, while a couple of his friends jeered. Kiba snarled under his breath at them, but couldn't take his attention away from Naruto. The bloody freak was smirking at him.

"You're not gonna embarrass yourself are you Kiba?" he said low enough for only those nearby, like Kiba himself, to hear. He reached out with his hand and gave a gesture for Kiba to approach. "Come on! Let's see the Inuzuka prodigy at his best!"

For a second Kiba was suspicious of Naruto's invitation. It sounded a hell of a lot like the bait before the trap. But the jeering was getting louder and Kiba couldn't handle being mocked by anyone. He growled to himself and resumed the charge, scary face be damned!

"RAGH!" he barked as he leapt forward at great speed, driving his elbow into Naruto's gut. Naruto winced from the blow and doubled over, but even the pain couldn't wipe the smile from his face. With his arms guarding his head Kiba had been forced to go low to make that strike, and it gave Naruto a good opening. Kiba saw Naruto beaming menacingly and was filled with enough dread to drop the idea of a follow up attack and move to retreat. He put all his leg strength into leaping back, but a backward dodge was nowhere near as fast as moving forward. As Naruto proved when he stepped into Kiba.

The adrenaline brought on by constant use of chakra made everything seem so much slower to Kiba in those next few seconds. The sight of Naruto eclipsing his entire range of vision, blocking even the sun until only those eyes lit the way. A fist that came from below, arcing up and demonstrating the full use of those muscles. The instinct to brace himself was his undoing as that fist connected with his chin and launched him high into the air.

The sounds of the crowd sharply inhaling was drowned out by a ringing in his ears. His eyes met the sun, but he was already blinded by the shock of the strongest uppercut he'd ever felt. The heat of the day wavered as he suddenly started to feel cold, but then it returned in a searing wave. And before he knew it, he was falling.

Kiba hit the ground, and a whistle blared out, signalling the end of the fight. In the coming moments his senses returned to him until he was actually capable of realising the position he was in. Lying in the dirt, looking up at the sky, tasting blood in his mouth. There was no doubt in his mind. He'd been beaten. But he was too sore to even care.

As Akamaru ran to Kiba's side and licked his master's face, Naruto began another approach. The little dog snarled at the one who had hurt Kiba, but Naruto ignored him. Kiba was just starting to get himself up when Naruto extended a hand. However it was sharply retracted when Akamaru lunged at him. He backed off, and in that moment Kiba quickly got to his feet before Naruto could offer to help him again.

"I can get up on my own." He muttered under his breath. Naruto cocked a brow at the statement, but let it slide.

"Naruto, Kiba, you know what to do." Iruka spoke up.

The two boys looked at each other, one looking perfectly comfortable and the other far from it. Even so Kiba held out his hand with the two fingers. At that instance Naruto hesitated, the lameness of the gesture not lost on him, but he went through with it all the same. The handshake lasted only a fraction of an instant before Kiba stalked off to make distance from Naruto and the jeering boys.

A vaguely disappointed sigh came out in Naruto's exhale, but he didn't let Kiba's standoffishness get to him. He made his way back to the crowd and scooped up his jacket, throwing it over his shoulders as his classmates silently let him pass. In a matter of seconds he was pulling himself back onto his perch and facing the sparring field again, where Iruka was bringing the attention of the class back to him to move things along.

Naruto took the last moments that people were watching him to take stock of their thoughts. Sasuke looked pretty damn surprised even now, with the girls around him completely gobsmacked. Shino had already turned back to the front, either to keep Naruto from thinking he had the Aburame's attention or just because Iruka had called for it. Ino was staring at him with a bit of a quivering smile, as if she couldn't quite believe he was real.

But then Naruto felt something he'd never felt before. It was a feeling as if spotlights had suddenly been thrown on him in the worst of ways. His senses were sparking and he had an idea about what was happening. He leaned forward and looked past Ino to the last person he hadn't checked out. The second Naruto's eyes met with Sakura, he found he now knew how Sasuke and Kiba had felt when he looked at them.

So intense.

Ino noticed Naruto's diverted attention and turned her head. She saw Sakura with her focus locked onto Naruto in a display she had never seen the pink haired anti-socialite wear for as long as she knew her. If her gaze was fire and Naruto was ice, there would be nothing but a puddle left of him by now.

"What's up with her?" Naruto asked, a little breathlessly.

When Sakura realised that she was being watched not only by Naruto, but by Ino too, she sharply buried herself back into her book. The moment wasn't lost on Ino though. She was quite interested in Sakura's interest in Naruto. "I think she's happy that there's someone other than Sasuke who's in her tier now." she remarked, before changing the subject by looking at the blood on Naruto's face. "Shouldn't you get that checked? It could get infected."

Her concern made Naruto smile. He looked at her as he raised his hand to his face again and wiped more of the blood from his cheek. The sight of Ino freezing in shock and horror at his perfectly smooth, unblemished skin was something he enjoyed to no end. "I don't know what you're talking about." He said as he pulled his hood back up, letting the luminescence of his eyes wave against the shade. "I feel fantastic!"


	3. Chapter 3

I'm really happy with the number of responses I've been getting for the first two chapters of this fic. It's been so long since I've written anything that's recieved such attention. And I mean a really long time. I've never written a fic like this before, but I have read a large part of a fic with chapters as long as these, and I know from reader's perspective that it can get frustrating if nothing seems to be happening. That's why I want to assure you all that things will be moving along plot wise very soon. There are just a couple more things I need to establish before that happens. I hope I can keep your interest until then, and even beyond that stage!

* * *

**Settling in**

Come four o'clock that afternoon the air had cooled to a more bearable degree. A graceful wind rolled over the buildings and cleared the stuffy air of just a few hours ago. The clouds had thinned out to leave the endless blue canvas spread out all across the sky. One couldn't hope to ask for better conditions as the day began to wind down. If only one could bring oneself to enjoy it.

Kiba walked out of the academy with more bruises than just the ones on his body. He sullenly kicked a stone across the dirt while Akamaru walked beside him, emulating his master's discontent in a more depressed fashion. An entire afternoon of being smirked at by the other guys in the class had ruined any chance of Kiba being able to settle down at all.

Still, there was one thing that made him feel a little better. None of those morons that had been making fun of him were dumb enough to show their faces to him outside of academy hours. Kiba may have been shown up by that new guy, but that didn't mean he couldn't kick each and every one of their asses in a head on fight. Hell, even the sneak attack they tried on one occasion resulted in _them_ leaving with more than just bruises to _their _bodies.

Akamaru wandered away from Kiba to sniff at a utility pole before subsequently raising his leg to it. Kiba noticed some people in the street look Akamaru's way, but of course they thought nothing of a dog peeing on a pole. That always struck Kiba as unfair. Sure, when Akamaru urinated in public it was fine, but when _he_ did it he was landed with a warning from the police and a smack to the back of his head from his mother.

After a few seconds of relieving himself Akamaru hurried to rejoin Kiba in their walk back home. They reached a cross junction with one corner cut off with just a bench, a tree and a couple of vending machine for the weary walker. Upon that bench were a trio of Kiba's classmates, apparently meeting with some arrangements for the afternoon. They noticed Kiba and raised their drinks to him, a gesture he met with a passing wave. At least not all the guys in his class were assholes.

That said times now were a hell of a lot different than back in the earlier years, Kiba pondered. That sneak attack was something that happened in the third year, but nothing at all like that had occurred ever since. As the years went by and students were either kicked out or dropped out, only the ones with the skill and drive to become ninja remained. Sure there were ones that liked to talk trash, but there was a base understanding between each of the students. They all shared the goal of becoming ninja and working to the betterment of the village as a whole. Even if it meant one day giving their lives to maintain the peace.

A sharp whistle brought Kiba back to the surface and had him searching for the source of the sound. He found that source leaning against the wall of a side street, looking at him with a cool smile. Akamaru growled as he and his master saw Uzumaki Naruto, carrying a small grocery bag in one hand. Naruto picked himself up and started to approach the two of them, looking about as happy to see his classmate as Kiba was not.

"'Sup Kiba-kun?"

Kiba sneered at the informality in Naruto's manner of speaking. He didn't exactly like being spoken to in such a friendly way to a guy he didn't even know when he woke up that morning, and who definitely didn't know him. "What do you want?" he asked with plenty of bite in his bark. "You here to gloat about your victory or something?"

Akamaru quickly got between Kiba and Naruto in an attempt to protect his master from the dangerous stranger. The little dog barked and snarled to keep Naruto back, and unlike earlier Naruto heeded Akamaru's warning. It broke his smile a little, but it didn't go away. He looked up at Kiba with a grin and showed about as peaceful a gesture as one like him could manage.

"Relax Kiba-kun. Your scoreboard's probably a hell of a lot more impressive than mine." he said. "I lost count of the number of honest fights I've been in since my training started. But I know exactly how many of those fights I've won. You wanna know how many that is?" he gave Kiba a chance to respond, and when none was made he answered with a single solitary digit. "Just one."

Kiba was acceptably taken aback by this announcement for more than just one reason. "Bullshit!" he said with a bewildered expression. Naruto just smiled and shrugged. It didn't lessen Kiba's disbelief, but it did spur him on. "You serious?"

"All the guys I've fought have had at least ten years more experience and were a couple of feet taller than me." Naruto replied, adding in a pout before he carried on. "And not one of the bastards was above taking every cheap shot they could make."

By now Akamaru had ceased his barking, but his guard was still up completely. While he busied himself watching and waiting for Naruto to make a threatening move, Kiba was stuck wondering just what kind of people Naruto trained with to be able to say such things. He had a tough time buying the story Naruto was spinning to him, but then he realised rejecting the story meant accepting he'd been beaten by a guy who _hadn't_ spent his training fighting full grown men. In the end he decided which side made Kiba himself look less pathetic and settled for it.

"Alright, well, whatever." He said dismissively. "Was there something you wanted?"

It was Naruto's turn to show some disbelief, though his was of a much more disparaging variety, as if the thing he wanted was already laid out for Kiba to see and the Inuzuka was just not getting it. "Hell yeah there's something I want!" he said, lifting his hand to show the blood stained cloth wraps; the only remaining evidence of his fight with Kiba, aside from the aforementioned bruises _on_ Kiba. "That was some cool stuff you were doin' back there, but it was damn obvious you weren't giving it your all. I'm guessing the full might of Inuzuka Kiba goes against the rules of friendly sparring, am I right?"

Though Kiba might have missed Naruto's intentions before, with what that guy was saying now there was no way he could misunderstand. More than that, the things he was saying were things Kiba liked hearing. "You got that right!" he replied with a hungry enthusiasm. "If I had used the full force of the Four Legs Taijutsu Style you wouldn't be walking away with just a…" he trailed off when he realised that there were no cuts to Naruto's face at all. The cloth wraps really were the only indicator that Naruto had been wounded in their fight. "The hell?"

Realising what had distracted Kiba, Naruto turned his face so the sun shone on his unblemished skin. "Trust me; it'd take a hell of a lot more than what you had back there to make a cut that lasted!" Naruto returned Kiba's bragging in equal kind, with the exception of the eerie proof _not_ etched upon his cheek. "Which is why I wanna make an informal request." His eyes narrowed and his grin sharpened as he lifted his hand to point directly at Kiba. "Last time was round one. Don't keep me waiting for round two, got it?"

Although he was still thrown by Naruto's lack of injury, the demand was enough to drag his eyes away and bring him back to the matter at hand. A challenge to a rematch eh? There was no way a guy like Kiba could ever keep up his self respect if he turned down something like that. "Alright, you're on!" he replied with his own equally sharp toothed grin. Akamaru, apparently understanding what was going on, barked just as eagerly.

With the challenge made and accepted, a silence fell as neither Naruto nor Kiba were sure of what to do next. Their enthusiasm wavered in place of a growing awkwardness as they both tried to decide what the best way to end this little meet was. By some bittersweet luck the atmosphere was diffused when Kiba noticed Akamaru no longer by his side. The white dog had moved over to the side of a store, squatted down, and began relieving himself in another fashion.

"AH! AKAMARU!" Kiba cried out, rushing to his dog's side. "You're not supposed to do that here!"

While Kiba fumed at Akamaru, who frankly looked like he didn't give a damn where he was allowed to poop, Naruto laughed loudly and slapped a hand on Kiba's shoulder. "Here." He said, taking the contents of his grocery bag, a small loaf of curry bread, and handing Kiba the empty bag.

Kiba reluctantly accepted the bag with a word of thanks that was sullied by the purpose of said plastic bag. As he set about the dirty task of cleaning up after an annoyingly satisfied Akamaru, Naruto stood back and opened the packet to his bread, which he immediately began chewing on. He watched as Kiba tied the bag and crossed to the other side of the street to toss it into a trash can before wiping his hands on his jacket.

An idea occurred to Naruto that made him swallow down the chunk of bread in his mouth before Kiba could call to Akamaru and take his leave. "Hey, you got anything going on right now?" he asked. Kiba raised a questioning brow to Naruto, so he elaborated. "I've spent the last three weeks caught up in files and paperwork and stuff. Now that I'm in I got nothing to do with my time."

Kiba took a long exhale and rubbed the back of his neck, looking off to the distance on the route he was taking home. "Sorry, I've got some errands to run." He said. But then he paused for a moment more with a thoughtful expression, one that didn't really suit him. "If you don't mind some heavy lifting I guess I could use a hand though."

He figured the offer of hard labour after a day at the academy would be off putting, but what he saw was quite the opposite. Naruto considered the offer and after a few seconds he nodded his head. "Sure, I can do that." He said, tearing another chunk from his curry bread. "Shoo we oh?"

Kiba wrinkled his nose at the overpowering smell pouring off the curry bread. It was almost enough to make him cancel the arrangement before it even started. "Yeah, just… get rid of that thing would ya?" he hastily asked before covering his face with his hand. "It's making my throat itch."

* * *

"Who's this?"

A woman who couldn't possibly be anyone but a close relative of Kiba's was stooping over to get a look at Naruto. She was standing on top of some wooden crates inside a storage facility next to a decently sized house, carrying a smaller box in her arms. From the labels on the boxes Naruto could see that the contents were various types of medication, all specifically designated to one type of animal or another.

Kiba took the box from the woman and set it down in a nearby unmanned cart. While he pretended that the box was too heavy for him to concentrate on speaking – a play that wasn't all that hard to sell considering it _was _heavy – he left himself open to the woman's sharp, searching eyes. She could see the bruise on his cheek and the way he winced when the box pressed on his stomach. The sight of the state he was in led her to change her question.

"What the hell happened to you?"

Naruto took the next box and set it down on the cart as well, while Kiba reluctantly headed back to the woman. Said woman jumped down from the crates to give him a closer inspection while he answered her. "We had some advanced sparring in class today." He explained, before waving his hand to Naruto. "In answer to your first question, Uzumaki Naruto. For your other question… second verse same as the first."

The woman looked at Naruto and stepped around Kiba to get nearer to him, giving him a quick scan with her hands on her hips. "Uzumaki Naruto huh?" she turned her gaze to the sky for a second and muttered the name again, as if it meant something to her. But then she shrugged and lowered her eyes back to Naruto. "Inuzuka Tsume. I'm Kiba's mother."

While Tsume stared Naruto down Kiba continued to gather boxes and put them in the cart, looking between his mother and classmate with uncertainty plain on his face. Naruto was wearing his most charming, and incidentally most dangerous, smile, but it was having no effect at all on the woman before him. In fact it almost looked like she was becoming less impressed by the second.

"Come on, gimme a good one."

Naruto was immediately perplexed. Tsume took a step back and moved into a stance, both her hands raised with their palms towards Naruto, sharp nails glinting in the sunlight. Naruto didn't need to see Kiba rolling his eyes to understand that Inuzuka Tsume was not a womanly woman. And unless his sense of reason was deceiving him, this was a woman that was giving him an open pass to use brute force. Normally he'd hesitate, but the Konoha flak vest made it obvious she was no bystander.

Deciding that it would be rude to deny Tsume's request, Naruto grinned and primed himself. Kiba stopped in his tracks to watch what was going on, not entirely sure whether he should them to stop or not. He didn't have to reach a conclusion, because the very next second Naruto hurled his fist at Tsume.

His knuckles struck Tsume's palm and his shoulder recoiled painfully. His fist was caught in Tsume's hand, her grip disallowing him from even relaxing his fingers. The joints in his digits were really starting to hurt from the strength of Tsume's hold. So much so that he couldn't even attempt to hide just how uncomfortable it was. He winced and gasped, and Tsume let go of him, grinning herself.

"Kid's got a nice straight, but Kiba, are you serious about this guy?" she turned to her son as she asked this, pointing with her thumb to Naruto who was currently nursing a very sore hand. "I'm going to be embarrassed as your mother if I have to tell people you got those bruises without being able to so much as return the favour!"

Surprisingly Kiba was rather subdued in his response to his mother's barb. He just muttered something under his breath that Naruto couldn't hear and continued doing what he'd been doing. But even so Naruto could see that Kiba was descending into a bad mood again, and nice a guy as Naruto was he didn't want to spend his time with somebody who was acting all surly.

Before he could think of anything to say however, Tsume started to sniff the air with a frown on her face. The scent she caught led her to look at Naruto again, specifically his hand. "I smell blood." She stated, grabbing Naruto's wrist and pulling back his sleeve. She saw the red stain on his cloth wraps and her nose wrinkled in disgust. Sharply she looked at Kiba. "Who's is this?"

Naruto cocked a brow at the sudden change of air between Tsume and Kiba. He realised with a sudden mental kick to himself that he should have just thrown the cloth wraps away instead of wearing them like some sort of trophy. The look on Kiba's face told him that he wasn't supposed to use the "Four Legs Taijutsu Style" like he did. Though since the instructors were hesitant to get in the way, Naruto had at the time assumed otherwise. Maybe then this was just an inter-clan rule or something. In any case, it looked like shit was about to hit the fan.

"It was my own jackass fault." Naruto quickly said, making up his story as he went along. "Today was my first day and I was showing off. I was juggling my kunai like an idiot and ended up stabbing my own hand."

Tsume locked her searching stare on Naruto, immediately scanning for signs of a lie. But Naruto was damn good at maintaining eye contact and gave nothing away even under such a discerning gaze. Eventually Tsume dropped his hand and the subject, looking to her son with the same disbelieving expression she had worn a minute ago.

"A juggling jackass beat the crap out of you?" she half asked. "Are you freaking _kidding_ me?"

Kiba kept quiet and continued grabbing boxes, passing them on to Naruto to put them on the cart. The first time it happened, with his back to his mother, Kiba looked Naruto dead in the eyes. Naruto met the gaze and a silent message was sent between the two of them. From an outside perspective nothing happened, but Tsume could sense that something was different between the two boys all of a sudden. It was enough to put her off her scolding.

"Get your act together Kiba, or I'm gonna sic Kuromaru on you!" she said warningly, before turning around and heading into the house. "If the juggling jackass hasn't got anything planned, bring him back when you're done! It's beef stew tonight!"

With that she left her son and his new friend to their work. The two of them had just finished putting the last of the boxes to the cart when the front door closed. A broad grin was plastered across Naruto's face at the prospect of getting a home cooked meal, while Kiba was left looking like he'd dodged a bomb. With the cart at the ready Kiba grabbed one of the poles at the front and looked at Naruto.

"Let's go." He said. "We've got a ways before we reach my sister's shop."

* * *

For what must have been the fourteenth time since they left Kiba's house, Akamaru lifted his leg to urinate on some form of structure or another. It was understandable, since logic dictated that where there was a veterinary clinic, there were bound to be other dogs marking their territory just the same. That said, it was a wonder such a little pooch like Akamaru contained so much fluid in him that he could mark as much as he did.

Naruto and Kiba were just unloading the last of the boxes into that very veterinary clinic, run by Kiba's elder sister Hana, when Akamaru ran up to join them. Hana had just emerged from the clinic and it seemed that she was someone who, despite her career choice, received much affection from Akamaru. While she gently greeted the happy little dog Naruto and Kiba finished up and turned the cart around. At the sight of them ready to leave, she rose to her feet.

"Thanks for the help. There's a bad case of Bordetella going around." She said, before smiling apologetically at Naruto's confused look. "That's kennel cough."

"Are you kidding me?" Kiba asked irately. "If I'd known that I wouldn't have brought Akamaru here!"

"Oh please Akamaru hasn't been anywhere but by your side since the day you met him!" Hana laughed in a complete inversion of her younger brother's feelings. "Not to mention Akamaru is a ninken. Their metabolism is far superior to most other dogs. We'd need to have a serious outbreak on our hands before there would be any reason to worry about Akamaru!"

Kiba didn't give the impression of being totally convinced by Hana's reassurance. To be on the safe side he whistled out to Akamaru and nodded to Naruto that it was time to head back to the house. "Mom's making beef stew, so hurry up and get home!" he said, before he, Naruto and Akamaru began to depart. "Mom invited this guy over, so for the love of god keep your pants- OW!"

The interruption was a result of Hana's fist colliding with the back of Kiba's head. All the while Hana continued to wear a smile, but there was no missing the vein on her temple nor the twitch to her eyebrow. Kiba grumbled to himself and picked up the pace while Hana returned to the clinic. Naruto waited until they were around the corner and well out of earshot to ask about what just happened.

"Keep her pants what?"

Still rubbing the back of his aching head, Kiba shot a sour look at Naruto. "Back when she lived in the same house as us she wouldn't bother getting properly dressed until she was just about to leave." He explained with a curl to his lip. "She'd walk around in just a shirt and her panties like it didn't even matter. Gross, right?" He waited for an answer, and when he didn't get one he repeated with a glance. "Ri-"

He was cut short when he saw a faraway look in Naruto's eyes. Actually, no, not faraway. More like a daydreamer that just found something to fantasize about. The goofy grin and the drool dripping down his lip was more than enough to attest to that. And the sight of such a response was more than enough to warrant a rather zealous reaction from Kiba.

"Aw dude that's my sister!" he yelled, punching Naruto on the arm. Naruto winced from the blow and wiped his chin, but didn't look even a little guilty about being caught with such an expression.

"Y'know, I wouldn't wanna make her uncomfortable or anything. If she wants to dress down I'm not gonna complain."

Kiba chose to ignore that remark as best as he could, though his best wasn't quite good enough. If Naruto hadn't saved his neck from a beating earlier he'd have given the perverted bastard more than a piece of his mind by now. As it was he felt he had to let it go, but in his mind he considered the debt he owed Naruto for that save cleared. Forgiveness from Inuzuka Kiba was damn pricey!

The two of them walked in silence for a good portion of the journey back, sticking to the middle of the road with passersby making way for them. Akamaru leapt up onto the cart and stood with his paws over the front, riding like some sort of majestic sea captain looking out to the endless surf.

A thought occurred to Kiba that he felt the need to verbalise. "You were hanging around with that Uchiha Sasuke guy earlier weren't you?" he asked while continuing to watch the road ahead. "Why didn't you just stick with him?"

Naruto glanced Kiba's way, searching his face quickly yet precisely. After a moment he shrugged and responded. "Eh, can't say I was all that big on him once I got to know him." He explained in a rough manner. "Guy seemed a little too into himself, you know?"

A harsh chuckle broke out from Kiba's grin. "Yeah, I know exactly what you mean!"

Another silence began to rise, but Naruto had something come to his mind in the wake of Kiba's question. Not about Sasuke, but of someone much more mysterious whom Naruto very much wanted to know more about. "What's the deal with Haruno Sakura?" he asked as he and Kiba started to work their way around a corner. "I'm not all that bad at figuring people out, but I can't get a make on her."

Derisively Kiba snorted. "No one's got a make on that girl. I don't think even she does!" he said with a smirk. A glance at Naruto had him see however that the guy was asking seriously, so Kiba gave it a minute more of thought to give a more helpful answer. "Uhh… I don't really know what to tell ya. Ever since the start of the third year she's been like that. Won't associate with anyone. Always comes in looking like she's been knocked around. Turns into a total psychopath during sparring sessions. To be honest I don't think I _want_ to know what her deal is."

Naruto listened intently to what Kiba had to say, connecting the words to the two or three recent memories he had of the girl named Sakura. Sitting in a corner away from the rest of the class was undeniably what one would call refusal to associate. He'd seen for himself how messed up she looked when she walked through the classroom door that morning. And he hadn't missed the fact that the instructors were a lot quicker to call off her match than they were with his own. Almost as if they were worried things could get _much_ worse.

That only intrigued him further.

"If she became like that from the start of the third year, does that mean she was different before?" he asked.

"Oh yeah, she was a polar opposite of who she is now." Kiba affirmed. "Hell, back then she was edging her way into the Uchiha Sasuke fan club if you can believe it."

Naruto didn't believe it.

"But… just before the start of the exams at the end of second year, she disappeared."

Well that did a mighty good job of catching Naruto's attention. "Disappeared?" he repeated with a curious glance at Kiba.

"Yeah. One day she was just coming into class when she was pulled away by a Jonin. No one saw her until the post-exam vacation was over. We thought she'd dropped out altogether. But then she just showed up on the first day back, refusing to talk to anyone. Nobody knows what happened, and as time went by her bad attitude just made people stop caring. You can pretty much guess the rest from there."

The two of them carried on in silence for a while, the mood sufficiently brought down by the discussion of such a subject. Yet despite hearing all that Naruto wasn't the least bit satisfied. He carried on walking with a furrowed brow, all the while thinking about that strange pink haired girl. Something about her bothered him a great deal. Something he just couldn't figure out no matter how much he thought about it. And from what he could tell, he'd never find out by asking the people who knew her.

His only choice would be to go straight to the source on that one.

* * *

A deep and loud yawn dragged itself out of Naruto's gaping mouth, accompanied by a satisfied smacking of the lips as a taste of the meal he'd eaten came back to him. Kiba's house sure had a heavy smell of dog around it, but god damn did his mother know her way around a beef stew! Naruto made a resolution to always offer help whenever Inuzuka Tsume was in the immediate vicinity. The pay was mild in scent but not in flavour, and without a doubt the tastiest dish Naruto had eaten in a _long_ time.

Now if only that yawn was a contented one.

He found himself standing outside the Hokage's office, waiting with waning patience to be called inside. This was no sporadic call in. It was an appointment Naruto had been late to meet. As such the Hokage had deigned to reprimand Naruto by taking his sweet time doing whatever it was he was doing in there. For fifteen minutes Naruto stood rocking on the balls of his feet, his full stomach tiring him and making his eyelids droop. It was late, far past sunset, and he had to attend the academy in the morning. Just what the hell was that old man playing at keeping a student up at this time of night?!

"Come in!"

Sarcastically Naruto praised the gods as he entered the Hokage's office. The room was pretty dim, with only the lamp on the Godaime Hokage Hatake Sakumo's desk providing any sort of light. Sakumo was just finishing up a bundle of paperwork as Naruto plunked himself down in one of the chairs in front of the desk, setting his gaze on the Godaime and waiting for whatever it was he was here for.

"I've heard from Umino Iruka that you had a fairly interesting first day." Sakumo said in an utterly deadpan fashion that didn't quite match his laid back way of sorting through his files. "From what I understand you've already made an enemy of the Inuzuka boy."

Naruto smirked sardonically. "Ya think so?" he asked. "How often do _your_ enemies invite you over for a meal?"

This earned a cocked brow from Sakumo. "Oh? So you've made a friend of him?"

Naruto rocked back in his chair and made an offhand gesture. "Sure, we painted each other's nails, gossiped about boys, all that sweet stuff." He said, looking out the window to the moon hovering over the buildings to the distance. "He seemed kinda shy though." He then put his hand to his face and whispered. "I think he's a _virgin_."

Sakumo wasn't the least bit amused by Naruto's sense of humour, nor did he approve of the utter lack of respect he showed the Hokage of Konohagakure. It was a trait that had demonstrated itself often these past few weeks, one that Sakumo was preparing to stomp out this very second. But he wasn't so brutish as to merely demand the respect. Neither was he foolish enough to think a demand would get him said respect. He was much more a man of action when it came to dealing with arrogant children.

"Well I'm sure you'll be gentle with him." He retorted in a successful attempt at damaging Naruto's egoism. The boy's smile wavered as his own joke was turned on him. "You're here because I have found a few choice apartments that you can afford with the allowance paid to you by the village. My sources tell me that you've been sleeping outside these past few weeks."

"Not when it's raining." Naruto aloofly replied, continuing to rock back and forth. "I told ya I can't stand small places. Feels like I'm in a box or a cage or something."

"Yes." Sakumo said while opening a thick folder and turning it towards Naruto. "Here is a list of the available buildings within the village. I've bookmarked the ones within your price range. You just let me know which ones you're interested in and I'll arrange for someone to show you around tomorrow after class."

Dissatisfied with the Hokage for bringing him here for such a reason, Naruto took the folder and flipped through it, trying to look invested as he picked out what would be his home. The places Sakumo had noted were all simple abodes. One bedroom, no living room, just enough space to meet the needs of a boy Naruto's age. But that was just the problem. Enough space for a boy Naruto's age didn't mean enough space for Naruto.

It wasn't just a matter of wanting a big apartment. The reason he slept outside was because that was what he was comfortable with. It was what he was used to. The only times he'd slept inside was when the weather was crappy or if some special circumstances had arisen. About eighty percent of the rest of the time had been him, a sleeping bag and the vast expanse of the forest. Sleeping inside had always led to some of the worst nights in his life, always accompanied by dreams of drowning or being buried alive or some shit like that. He would never in a million years say it to anybody, but he was a little claustrophobic. That was why he knew he couldn't live in any of the apartments that the Hokage had listed for him.

Sakumo watched Naruto over his clasped hands as the boy continued to peruse the folder. Without even being able to see the page the boy was on he could tell that Naruto was looking at more than just the apartments he had picked out. It wasn't much of a surprise. He had figured out rather quickly that Naruto didn't like having decisions made for him. It was something the boy was going to have to learn to overcome if he was going to live a contented life.

A few minutes of quiet searching passed before Sakumo noticed that Naruto had cemented himself on a page. Sakumo was more than capable of reading the subtle nuances of a young boy's expression, enough so to get an impression of the thoughts running through Naruto's mind. Interest at first bred into fascination. Then deep concentration as he pondered some questions or debated with himself. A feeling of cunning shown in the glimmer of the eyes and a twitching of the lips. Sakumo was able to count down the seconds until Naruto reached a decision with flawless precision.

"I'll take this place." Naruto said, spinning the folder on the desk so Sakumo could see.

For a weary couple of seconds Sakumo stared at Naruto, certain that the page he was about to look at was not going to be one he had handpicked. Allowing his eyes to drop down to the folder, he saw in a nanosecond that he was correct in his assumption. Unbelievably so. He gave out a sigh and rubbed his tired eyes as he got ready to give an explanation he didn't doubt was redundant.

"First of all, that's not an apartment." He said, leaning on his elbow and looking straight at Naruto. "It's a bar. Secondly, it's a disused bar the original owner couldn't afford to properly maintain. Third, and most importantly, it is _far_ outside your price range. And no, there isn't anyone in this village who would sell it to an eleven year old boy on credit."

Despite of, or perhaps even as a result of Sakumo's logic, a broad grin came across Naruto's face. "Guess it _is_ a little expensive, huh?" he asked rhetorically. Sakumo's brow twitched as Naruto made an extravagant show of opening his jacket and reaching inside a hidden pocket, procuring a small slip of paper and putting it down on the desk. "Good thing I got _this_ then."

Concern filled Sakumo while he took the slip of paper and turned it over in his hands. It was old, faded and weathered at the fold marks. Cautiously he opened the paper so the writing was visible to him. Looking over the ink thoroughly, he returned his gaze to Naruto in a silent question he feared he already knew the answer to.

"That there is a bank account number." Naruto said with a smile. He rested his head in his hand, watching the disgruntled expression upon the Hokage's face. "I know how much is in there, I just don't know how to get at it. I was kinda hoping you could help me out there."

Sakumo dryly handed the sheet of paper back and reclined in his chair as Naruto returned the paper to his inner pocket. Something drained from his face as he visibly sank into the padding. "So you know then." He said in a low voice.

"What?" Naruto asked, landing his chair back on the floor with an audible bang. The smile was gone from his lips and there was a slight sneer in his eyes. "That I'm the last son of a dead clan and of the shortest lived Hokage in Konoha's history? Or are you talkin' 'bout the petting zoo for giant monsters set up inside of me?"

Sakumo internally cringed. "Naruto-"

"Forget it. I don't wanna talk about it." Naruto interrupted with a wave. He pulled his chair in closer to the desk and rested his arms upon it, letting the light of the lamp shine upon what was a rather straight expression for such a haughty boy as himself. "I'm gonna level with ya. I didn't want to come here. The thought didn't occur to me for a second. I was doing just fine in my old life."

The apprehensive ambience was disrupted by a tapping at the window. Sakumo turned around to see a pigeon hitting the glass with its beak. Ignoring Naruto for now, he stood up and opened the window, taking the bird in hand. A few seconds of fumbling rewarded him with a tiny scroll that had been tied to the bird's leg. As soon as the scroll was removed the bird took off again into the night.

Sakumo could feel Naruto watching him as he unfurled the scroll and began to read. Both the bird and the design of the scroll carried their own secret meaning. A meaning that Sakumo recognised right away. It was a note sent by a squad who were out on an assignment. The message on the scroll was short and simple. Mission complete. Group eliminated. Boy not found.

The sound of Naruto shuffling in his seat switched Sakumo's attention away from the scroll. Rolling it up and slipping it in his desk, he sat back down in his chair to face Naruto again. When he spoke, he tried not to give away the new revelation in his words or tone. But all the same he couldn't help feeling some sympathy for the boy and a twang of guilt at the bitter irony presented to him.

"Then why did you come here?" he asked.

Naruto paused to suppress a yawn before it even occurred. The last few weeks he'd been trying to sleep earlier in anticipation of six AM academy sessions, only to find to his annoyance that the academy started the same time as any other school. In short, he was pretty damn tired right now. "I made a promise to my sensei." He explained with an air of bitter reproach. "Leaving here means breakin' that promise. As much of an old bastard as he is, he's the guy who raised me and taught me all I know. I at least owe it to him to try and keep my word, y'know?"

There was some hesitance before Sakumo showed his understanding. "I won't pry any further than is necessary." He said, locking his desk drawer for extra security. Simply taking Naruto's word on its own was a foolish move that was not a likely response of Sakumo's. In that sense he considered pressing some other issues, such as the "giant monster", but decided against it. He could see how tired Naruto was. "But there is one thing I want to make very clear."

Naruto was listening.

"You are an important figure in the village for reasons you already know. However only a small group of people in the village have any idea as to who you are. It's for the best that this does not change. You are not to tell anyone about the Kyuubi or your connection to the Yondaime. This is for your own safety as much as the village's."

It was clear that Naruto was expecting to hear as much. All the same he responded in an aloofly annoyed fashion, shrugging it off and accepting it. "Alright." He said.

"There's more." Sakumo continued. "Precautions will be made with your situation in mind, but you won't receive any preferential treatment." He spoke his next words with more care and caution. "Nor will it be tolerable for you to treat your superiors any differently than one would expect of a ninja in training."

Naruto's stare sharpened considerably. From the look on his face Sakumo half expected the boy to give some sarcastic refusal or worse. He was given a decent surprise then when Naruto rose to his feet, put his right hand over his heart and bowed deeply. "I understand, Hokage-sama." He grandly declared.

Sakumo gave Naruto a flat look. Even with his head so low and his face completely covered by cloth, hair and shadow, Sakumo knew without a doubt that the boy wasn't being completely sincere. However it was a huge step forward from the interruptions and informal speech, so Sakumo was willing to take it and have it improve in time.

"Very well then." He said, picking up his pen and making a note in the estate folder. "Tomorrow after class you will return here and we will see about making your account accessible to you. Afterward I'll have someone take you to this bar and let you see it for yourself before you make a decision. However for tonight, please use an inn. If nothing else, you dirty the village by sleeping in the streets." He pointed the tip of his pen to the door. "You can go now."

* * *

A key rattled in a lock and a door opened, spilling light from the street into the room. Naruto stepped into the dark, dusty domicile, looking over it all with an inquisitive smile. Despite its vacancy there was a lot of personality to be seen in the empty bar. Mirrors lined the wood panelled walls and created the bizarre illusion that there were hundreds of Narutos in the room at once. It made more sense for a nightclub to be like that than a bar, and Naruto didn't like the idea of there being more than one of him. Made him feel less… unique.

From behind him entered the one who accompanied him on this little journey; Hatake Kakashi. He peered across the bar with much less enthusiasm than what Naruto was showing. Even so he could see the reason Naruto wanted to live in a place like this. It was already furnished for one thing, and even had a pool table on one side of the room. On the other hand however he understood right away what the "maintenance issues" were referring to. The floorboards were warped for one thing. For another, the ceiling lights weren't properly attached and a line of them had even fallen to the ground. At best this place needed a good patch job, and at worst a wrecking ball. Despite its rustic charm, Kakashi would never see himself living in a place like this.

"This is… interesting." He remarked, closing the door behind him. The narrow windows lining the top of the front wall allowed a dim like to seep into the bar. Unfortunately it made the place look even seedier than it already was. Kakashi couldn't in good conscience go on without speaking his mind. "Frankly though I think you'd be much better off with someplace a little more, well, _habitable._"

In spite of his awareness of the very flaws Kakashi was referring to, Naruto almost waltzed through the bar as he checked out every angle until he reached the bar itself at the far side of the room. "Hey, if Hokage-sama hadn't been such a stick in the mud I'd have been pretty happy with just sleeping in a hammock in the woods." He remarked, sitting down on a stool and spinning on it. He hastily jumped off though when he realised he was unscrewing the thing in the process. "Uh, and besides, learning a thing or two about home improvement can't hurt can it?"

Kakashi chose not to answer that. He'd tried a little "home improvement" once or twice in the past and found that it could indeed hurt. As a matter of fact a personal shame of his was a bad habit of hitting his thumb with a hammer every time he tried to stick a nail in his wall to hang a picture. Not a trait a Jonin would ever want to boast about.

The lights overhead flickered as Naruto found the main switch and hit it. a fraction a second later however they all failed, giving Naruto a disappointed look as he realised what a task he was setting up for himself. He got over it though and made his way for the pool table, picking up a cue and inspecting it. A crazed grin came over his face as he swung the thick end of the cue through the air like an axe. What really bothered Kakashi was how well he did it, as if the boy was versed in the art of hitting things with pool cues.

"So what's a Jonin doing showing off real estate to a kid like me?" Naruto asked, while searching underneath the table to see if the balls were anywhere around. "Aren't you guys too high class to be doing stuff like this?"

Gingerly Kakashi tested a wooden chair before deciding against it and just leaning against a pillar instead. "Hokage-sama thought it would be a good idea if I came along to check out this place myself." He said, folding his arms and watching Naruto shuffle around the pool table like a hunchback in his search for pool balls. "As for his reasons, well, I'm afraid even something like that can't be disclosed to a non-ninja like yourself."

Giving up his search, Naruto instead opted to sit on top of the pool table and look at Kakashi, absent-mindedly hitting one end of the cue off his empty hand while he did it. He had noticed for a while now that Kakashi had been giving him more attention than was considered normal. Naturally he was aware that both this guy and the Hokage carried the same name, and looked similarly enough that he could call them related without much doubt. But was that enough to estimate how much Kakashi knew about him?

After a minute of silence filled with Naruto twisting to study the room some more, he slid off the table and went to investigate the other rooms. This was namely the bathrooms found down a corridor to one side of the bar. Kakashi followed him there and they both were abundantly aware of the notion that bars didn't typically provide bathing facilities, adding another thing to the list of what Naruto would need to make living here feasible.

"You could always knock down the wall to the female bathroom to make more space." Kakashi suggested, hoping that by making Naruto's to do list bigger and bigger he would effectively put the boy off the place altogether. "It sure is lucky you've got all that inheritance money. This seems like a really sound investment."

Naruto passed a sideward glance at Kakashi, failing to hide his irritation. Now he was doubtless that the Jonin was making a stab at him, and he sure as hell didn't like it. All the same though he decided the better way to respond was to ignore the barb and take his words above face value.

After a few more minutes of inspection Naruto and Kakashi returned to the main room to gather their thoughts. Kakashi felt the place spoke for itself and didn't say anything to try and dissuade Naruto further. He could see himself that the boy was aware of all the trouble the place would give him for what was little reward in Kakashi's eyes.

"Why don't we look at some other places before you make your decision?" Kakashi offered.

Naruto thought about it seriously, rubbing the back of his head and letting out a deep exhale as he gave the bar another once over. The floorboards needed replaced, the mirrors taken down, the walls redecorated, the furniture replaced, the lights fixed, the toilet converted into a bathroom and lots more than that without even thinking about the cleaning. But… on the other hand… there was just something about the place that he was really digging. And that was good enough for him.

"I… think I'll take it."

The seconds passed in the dusty bar, with only thin light coming through the grimy windows. Wind whistled through the keyhole of the already chilly place and a trickle of dust dropped from the hole where the line of lights had fallen down. The mirrors made the place look even more desolate than it already was. And yet through all this Naruto still liked the place. Kakashi wondered if maybe there was a kind of appeal in something that looked objectionable on the surface, yet held a lot of promise from a certain perspective. Then again, that could just be wishful thinking.

Wiping a hand across the surface of the bar to get rid of the worst of the dirt, Kakashi rested his arms upon it and tried to see what the place _could_ be. In the hands of someone who knew what they were doing, there was potential to be had. In the hands of an eleven year old boy who was actually enchanted by this place however, he had some serious doubts. That, and there were other reasons that made him want to ensure that Naruto lived in decent accommodations. Primarily in regard to the reason he had been denied the chance to take on a Genin team this year.

"If I tell Hokage-sama that this place is beyond repair, he won't allow you to live here." He said in such a casual fashion that Naruto needed a moment before he could react. When he did, it was with a foreboding stare. "Oh, I won't do that. On one condition. I'll contact some people to fix the place up. Do not under any circumstances try and do this yourself. Got it?"

"…" Thrown by Kakashi's unexpected show of kindness, Naruto was left staring wide eyed at the Jonin for a while. It took him longer to muster up the sense to respond. "I, uh, sure. Thanks."

"It's no problem." Kakashi said, getting back up and walking around the bar. "I should warn you though that a place like this is going to take at least a week or two before it's good enough to live in. I'd recommend booking an inn until then. With a balcony if need be. Just… try not to put too much of a strain on your inheritance."

The two of them headed for the door with Naruto in just good enough a mood to avoid being glum in his response to Kakashi's other request. He gave a reluctant nod as Kakashi opened the door to let him out. While Kakashi fumbled with the lock Naruto scratched the back of his neck, watching the Jonin rather awkwardly. He was getting another strange feeling, kind of like he was dealing with an uncle who knew him, but he had no memory of. Then Kakashi turned to face him and he kicked those thoughts aside.

"Well, I'd better be on my way." Kakashi said, slipping the key into his pocket. "I have a mission to prepare for, so I'd better call out to those contacts as soon as possible. I'll pass word to Hokage-sama about the situation. I expect he'll want you to come in to discuss matters more."

"Yeah, sure." Naruto replied, grabbing the back off his neck with both hands in as aloof a gesture as he could manage. "Guess I'll see you around."

With that Kakashi gave a quick wave and set off down the street. Naruto watched him depart for a while, but quickly lost interest in favour of the closer thing in his mind. He took a few steps back and looked at the entrance of the bar. From this side it didn't look nearly as messed up, but that was just how these things went. All that was left was to talk to the Hokage and think about what life would be like having a place to call his own.

Heh, what a joke.

A minute passed and Naruto got bored. He turned and crossed the street in the opposite direction to Kakashi, thinking about what he would eat for dinner now that his stomach was starting to give its evening growl. The bar was near enough to the academy that he had a rough idea of where he was and where he could go to get some food. As a matter of fact there was one place he wanted to check out. A small diner by the name of Ichiraku Ramen.

Heading down that way, he paid little attention to the street names and landmarks like he probably should have. For the first couple of days he had done as such, but the activity quickly became dull beyond belief. All the streets looked the same to him; a mishmash mess of architecture and jutting signposts with overgrown plant life wrapping around them. He supposed it was meant to make the place seem exotic and interesting, but to him it just looked like bad junkyard art.

Just as his mood was beginning to foul he found himself in a narrow side street on a slope lined with all kinds of small and colourful stores. What stopped his decline from the pleasant feelings of a few minutes ago was the jingling of a bell and the sight of one of the store doors opening. It was at that time that a great and happy coincidence occurred as Naruto noticed a certain pink haired girl emerge from said store.

Sakura had her eyes on a book and several bags hanging from her arms. She walked ahead of Naruto and moved through the street without looking up from the page she was reading even as she weaved around the odd person coming from the other direction. For a not so strange reason Naruto's stomach dropped down on his list of priorities in favour of an activity he didn't really have a reason to do past just wanting to do it. He matched his pace with Sakura's, kept his distance, and started to follow her.

Making sure to get no closer than fifty feet and to avoid staring directly at her, Naruto stayed behind Sakura as she made her way through these thin streets to wherever her next destination was. It was a fun little pastime. Especially considering what an unusual enigma this girl was. Over the last two days he had spent a good while trying to figure her out, but he could never reach any sort of a conclusion. Even Sasuke, Ino and Kiba, despite all they told him, hadn't helped him get anywhere in that damn question. Since Sakura didn't sound exactly approachable, shadowing her sounded at least enough of a good idea to get a more thorough impression.

The store Sakura had emerged from was a pharmacy of some sort. An old timey one in fact, carrying the smell of medicinal herbs and showing off a variety of plants no doubt intended for the practicing apothecary. Flicking through the textbooks Naruto had been made to buy for class, he had noted a chapter or two on plant identification. By the look of things Sakura had chosen to take that study to another level.

Sakura took a left down another street and Naruto continued to follow after her. He rounded the corner and walked straight into a strange square of some description. It was a raised stone floor that stood between the upper levels of what appeared to be a set of apartments. He could see the main street through the passages and knew he was above ground level. An oak tree grew in the centre of this square, surrounded by old wooden benches. There was plenty of aesthetic value in this small area, but Naruto didn't care about that. What he cared about was the absence of the one he had been pursuing. Where the hell had she gone?!

Hurrying across the square and to the passage, Naruto looked down into the main street for some sign of Sakura. To his surprise however the girl hadn't pulled an escape trick on him at all. She had simply rounded the passage and was headed for the stairwell when the sound of Naruto's footsteps on the wooden floors had alerted her to his presence. She turned around and saw him there, standing not ten feet away from her, looking at her like she was on fire.

Needless to say she wasn't thrilled to see him in such a condition. "Have you been following me?" she asked with a frown on her face. When Naruto stalled too long to make an answer she assumed she was correct and turned away. "Creep."

Crap. This hadn't turned out at all like Naruto had intended. Come to think of it though, he hadn't known exactly what he wanted to come of this anyway. Just some clarity would have been nice. Well, he was found out and unless he did something soon he was going to run the risk of some rumour being spread around that he was a stalker, and that sure as hell wasn't what he wanted. Luckily he had a talent for situations like these. That talent was the ability to pull stories straight out his ass without even making a bad smell.

"Hey, that any way to talk to a fellow classmate?" he called out, slipping his hands into his pockets for a casual effect. "I just wanted to talk to ask you somethin'."

Though her attention was grabbed, Sakura didn't mask her impatience at all. Snapping her book shut, she put on a plain expression and looked pointedly at Naruto. "Fine, what is it?" she asked.

"I hear you're the best in the class." Naruto explained, moving forward but taking care not to approach Sakura _too _closely. "I got a bit of a problem. See my sensei trained me in a lot of things, but there's some stuff that he missed or did a crappy job of teaching. I don't wanna be held back 'cos of his negligence, so I thought maybe-"

"You thought maybe that if you asked nicely I would take some time out of my own schedule to tutor you." Sakura concluded Naruto's thought for him. "And how exactly did you manage to get into the final year of the academy if you lacked some essential knowledge huh? First you waste my time by calling out to me, then you feed me a load of crap like that and expect me to waste even _more_ time on you. How selfish can you get?"

Ouch. This one had an even bigger mouth on her than Ino. The main difference being that Ino had made sure the girls she'd been talking about were out of earshot while Sakura looked Naruto straight in the eye while she said all that stuff. Normally he liked outspoken girls like that, but there had to be a line somewhere, and Sakura was getting pretty damn close to it-

Naruto stopped before he let those thoughts manifest into feelings. He remembered what Kiba had said about Sakura; that she refused to associate with anybody. So this was how she acted to make the whole class dislike her so much huh? The level of understanding this insight brought to him was enough to make him chuckle. As expected though Sakura noticed this without any of the context behind it.

"I'm leaving." She snapped, turning around and walking off. Naruto didn't try to stop her as she headed down the staircase that would take her to the main street. He had a feeling that he had just begun to scratch the surface of that enigma that had been bothering him so. And he was tenacious enough to have the confidence to know that in time the whole story would be laid out to him. There wasn't a shred of doubt that whatever that story was, it was going to be a good one.

* * *

The crescent moon shone brightly upon that village tonight. The clouds had gathered in small droves to obscure the otherwise shining stars that scattered their light across the sky. The cool wind nibbled at the necks of anyone who continued to walk the streets at this time. All in all it was another peaceful, uneventful night in Konohagakure.

Naruto had heeded both the Hokage and Kakashi's request to reside in an inn for the duration until his future home became fit for him to live in. And just like Kakashi suggested, he had found a place with a balcony that gave him a good view of the night sky. He lay mostly in the room, but kept his head outside, watching the stars and moon and letting his body wind down after a long day of walking around.

While the first three weeks of his stay in Konoha had been frustratingly dull, he felt the past two days had in part made up for it. It seemed that the class he'd been landed in wasn't nearly as grey a group as he had expected them to be. And he felt pretty safe in saying that he had made his mark on them all. So long as he didn't mess things up, it looked like this one single year of formal education was at the very least going to be an entertaining one.

Naruto reached over for his jacket, which was laid out on the floor beside him. There was more than one hidden pocket in there, and more than just a scrap of paper with a bank account number written on it. From the depths of the coat he procured three things of particular value at this moment in time. One was a black journal he'd bought from a local store, and a pen to go with it. He put those two down for now though in favour of the third item.

It was an old, leather bound book, creased from the years but maintained very well. It was no ordinary book of course. The red spiral of the Uzumaki clan imprinted on the cover was the first clue about that. Naruto turned on his front and laid the book out, undoing the clip and spreading the covers apart. A ribbon showed him where he had left off, and within a moment he was looking at a familiar page. One with an unusual sealing array that in many ways resembled the tattoos on his arms. He smirked to himself and rubbed the ink imprinted upon him. His sensei was crude, but the reward for his efforts was inarguably worthwhile.

After spending a short while casually looking through ancient Uzumaki secrets, Naruto felt himself become more composed than his commonly less than elegant self. Once satisfied with his level thinking he closed the book back up and carefully returned it to its less than secure hiding place. With that taken care of, he took the journal and pen in hand, and began to put ink upon paper.

"_Name: Inuzuka Kiba."_ His eyes shone in the darkness as he wrote, a smile playing across his lips. _"Age: Twelve. Good points: Decent fighter. Easy to get along with. Bad points: Overly attached to his dog. Irritable."_ His smile toned down to a more distant, serious expression as he jotted down the next part. _"Extent of value: ..."_


	4. Chapter 4

Sorry for the delay, this chapter needed a couple of rewrites before I was happy with it. I have to say I am pleased at how much attention this story is getting. Fifty four reviews for just three chapters? Hell to the yes, please do keep those coming! Well, I'm eager to hear your thoughts, so go ahead and give the fourth installment a read through!

* * *

**The noble sisters**

Mizuki was an instructor at the academy just like Iruka. However his duties were often very different from his co-worker. Where Iruka specialised in teaching his students the theory and practices of nin, gen and taijutsu, Mizuki focused on some of the more situational studies, such as stealth, agility and survival skills. There were occasions however that his and Iruka's jobs intersected, and they worked together for the purpose of teaching the students. This had its pros and cons, one of which was being demonstrated right now. That being dealing with latecomers without disrupting the lesson for the rest of the class.

"Come on then, let's hear your excuse."

Mizuki stood against the wall just outside of the class, arms folded and wearing his most sceptical expression. Since his job was one that often required preparation and a loose timetable, he also took on duties as a disciplinarian. As such he had heard every story in the book twice. Or so he believed anyway. That said, he was interested to hear what this particular student had to say for himself. Especially given his present condition.

Naruto stood in an awkward slouch, looking up at Mizuki through dark ringed eyes. The sharp intensity in his stare that had earned him his current reputation was totally absent that morning. If not for the crooked smile he wore, one would not be blamed for thinking this was another boy entirely.

"It's been a rough couple of nights." He said while trying to fight back a yawn. "You ever find yourself waking up in the dead of the night thinking you lost a limb or something?"

He had barely managed to get that question out before his battle was lost and he had to cover his mouth with his hand to hide a massive yawn. All the while Mizuki watched him with an unchanging expression. Granted of all the excuses he'd heard, that one was new, but that meant little to nothing. Some students would spend more time than you would think trying to come up with a story that would keep the instructor from pressing further. And the simple fact was that he didn't believe someone who had dreams of dismemberment would bring it up in open conversation. It reeked to much of a false cry for sympathy.

"Sure I have." His answer was honest, further reason why he didn't buy Naruto's excuse. "The best cure is to eat right and get plenty of exercise before going to bed. It's hard to dream when you're too tired to think." He smirked. "So I'll do you a favour and come up with a workout that'll really help you get a good night's rest. But let's save that for later. For now, just in get in class and try not to nod off on us."

A brief salute and a widening of that crooked smile was the reward for Mizuki's promise of repercussion. The slightly peeved instructor opened the door and the two of them stepped inside, immediately drawing the attention of the rest of the class and Iruka. Quietly Naruto walked in, at first headed for his usual place. But upon seeing that his spot was occupied by Ino and Sakura, the latter of which refusing to acknowledge his presence, he was made to search for a new place. He found it, and by good fortune it was beside someone he could get along with easily enough.

"You look like crap." Kiba remarked, as Naruto took a seat beside him. The discussion didn't go any further than that though, for Iruka was looking their way to make sure they were paying close attention.

"Now that we're in our final year, it's time for you all to finally put all your studies into effect." Said Iruka, once everyone had seen enough of Naruto's less than stellar complexion. "For the next two weeks we will be reviewing what we know on the topic of Deception. Today we will start with a practice assignment just to see how familiar you all are with the subject."

A stir was brought about the class that Iruka was both expecting and looking forward to. With all the studying and theories and technical lessons he knew well enough that actual physical exercises would create much interest among his students. Sure, they had regular spars and weapon practices, but the more sophisticated lessons were reserved for the final year. Much hype had been made about it, and they were finally getting what they were waiting for.

"As you all know there are many different aspects to Deception." Said Mizuki, stepping forward and taking point as they came closer to what was more his territory than Iruka's. "There's infiltration, concealment, information protection, information theft, combative deception and many more fields that you will all need to learn and apply at a moment's notice if you are to be ready for any situation that comes your way."

"That's right." Iruka agreed with a sagely nod. "For the purposes of today's lesson however we're giving you until the afternoon to come up with a false identity complete with as many details as you can think of. After lunch each one of you will have to stand before the class and take on your false identity while Mizuki-sensei and I question you. Now you all have until the mid morning bell to talk amongst yourselves and discuss with each other what identity you will choose to take on."

"Just make sure and talk quiet alright?" Mizuki winked and grinned. "If we hear what kind of act you're going to put on then we'll have plenty of time to think of some really hard questions to ask."

With that said Iruka and Mizuki both took a seat and conversed on the interviews they would be holding later. At the same time the rest of the class started to move as friends joined together to form ideas for what they didn't doubt would be a challenging task. Naruto and Kiba of course stayed exactly where they were, though things didn't go exactly as Naruto thought they would when they found the soon vacant seats to their left occupied by a pair looking at Kiba.

"This sounds like a pain in the ass." Complained the boy known as Nara Shikamaru. He had barely dropped into his seat before he slouched down on the table and buried his head in his hands. "I'm open to any suggestions."

"Hey at least come up with your own ideas!" Kiba said reproachfully, shoving Shikamaru lightly and making the lazy guy straighten up, albeit with a grumble and a scowl. "Besides, this should be a cakewalk right? All we gotta do is pretend to be someone else while they quiz us. Can't be that hard right?"

"I don't know about that." Said a doubtful Akimichi Choji. "I heard that the interviews can get pretty intense. My older cousin said that the interview could turn into an interrogation as soon as they find a flaw in your story. He said that one girl even had a nervous breakdown and had to leave the class."

That off putting statement quietened down Kiba's bravado considerably and worsened Shikamaru's ill mood at the task at hand. Even so instead of getting right to it and thinking about his disguise, he found himself more interested in the person on Kiba's other side. "Since when do you two hang around together?" he asked, looking from Kiba to Naruto. "I thought you hated each other."

Until now Naruto had been gazing off into his own world, sitting in a half stupor from his lingering exhaustion. But little by little he felt his energy coming back to him and wakefulness restoring, until it reached the point where he could be consciously aware of what the people around him were saying. Rolling his head to look at Shikamaru, he gave a toothy smile and showed a face even more tired than the Nara's.

"What? Just cos I beat the crap out of him in front of the entire class?" he asked, earning an irked glare from Kiba. "If I decided to hate everyone I ever got beat up by, I'd have more enemies than a mob lawyer with Tourette's."

If he had expected Shikamaru to enquire further about that statement, he was sorely disappointed. Shikamaru had no trouble letting the matter drop and returning to his own vacant staring, but Choji soon brought the topic back to the class assignment as he made an uncertain suggestion about what kind of role he could play to convince the instructors. Kiba jumped on this, making his arguments, suggesting a disguise for himself and other such things. All while Shikamaru pointed out the flaws in everything and simply grunting when there was nothing to complain about. And Naruto just left them to it.

It took about ten minutes of discussion for the three boys to gather up some ideas for what each of them could try out, and were just working on some back stories to those false images when they realised Naruto was not contributing in the least. "You know you're a part of this assignment too right?" Kiba asked, looking Naruto's way with a doubtful frown. "Don't tell me you've already got it all figured out?"

Naruto, who had taken to leaning far back enough that his hood could shield his eyes from the light, stirred from a nap with an unexpected jolt. "Huh, what?" he mumbled. He'd heard Kiba, but it took him a few seconds to gather his thoughts. "Eh, who cares about it? This sounds like a waste of time."

"Um… it _is_ our assignment Naruto-san." Choji chimed in with uncertainty. "And Mizuki-sensei made it sound pretty important. Maybe you shouldn't just ignore it."

Naruto waved away Choji's suggestion and returned to shading his eyes. "Old man Hokage-sama said that ninja are assigned to whatever missions they're best suited for right?" he asked rhetorically. "Well so long as I don't waste my time learning these stupid things, I won't ever get assigned to missions that ask me to _do_ stupid things."

Not that Naruto could see, but the looks he was getting from the three boys were a little more than what one could call "disbelieving". It had been a long time since they had heard anyone in their class say such things as that. The reason was that the people that said those kinds of things had the unusual habit of failing the exams that allowed them to move on to the next year.

"_I guess there's no need to get to know _this _guy_._"_ Shikamaru thought the words he would always avoid saying. _"He's probably not gonna make it to the next term, let alone finish the year."_

The funny thing was that even though Shikamaru didn't say it, it was a thought that found its way into the minds of Choji and Kiba alike. The latter went as far as to give Naruto a dirty look. He couldn't help but take Naruto's dismissive attitude as an insult to many of the things Kiba both believed in and had worked towards. What would his late grandparents, both proud members of the Inuzuka clan and dutiful ninja of Konoha, say to a guy who believed he could skip out on work and still get the reward? Hell, what would they say to _him_ for getting beaten by a guy like that?

The three of them decided to move on and just ignore Naruto, which left him to his own thoughts in peace. Aware that they were no longer looking his way, he allowed the smile he had been restraining to show on his face. The truth was that he was well aware of what it would mean if he did a sloppy job of the assignment handed out to him. More than the boys next to him by far. Word would be sent to the Hokage, and the Hokage would without a doubt do something about it. It was a good opportunity to see just how far those "precautions" the old man talked about stretched in contrast to the "preferential treatment" he'd been told he would _not_ receive.

With such a mindset in place Naruto saw fit to spend the rest of the class idly recuperating while everyone else remained in deep discussions. When boredom set in he found himself eavesdropping on some of his classmates, listening in on some of the facades they wanted to take on. An apprentice merchant whose master had a gambling problem. A girl on vacation with her family, who happens to have a terrible sense of direction. On one occasion Naruto thought he heard one of the other girls suggest a disguise of looking for a lost pet. Even sitting around with his ears open provided him enough to see the division of quality between one student and the next. This year of practical application would most certainly be a definitive one.

After some time the bell finally rang and signalled the start of morning interval. Naruto let out a breath of relief that he would get a reprise from this stuffy classroom even if for just a half hour. Grabbing the sword he'd laid at his side he turned to get up to his feet. He didn't manage to complete the movement however. The reason was that someone stepped into his line of sight. Someone that seemed to make the entire world come to a halt.

A girl, one like he had never seen before. Her long midnight hair framed moonlit skin that was without a blemish or a fault. She was clothed in an elegant black dress with white lace trims, a blouse and black stockings that made her a symbol of splendour and propriety. She possessed the strangest of eyes; pale like the blind yet filled with a mystic omniscience. There wasn't a single detail of her that wasn't eye-catching. Naruto confirmed that himself.

The girl passed him by and continued down the steps, making her way through the door. It wasn't until she was out of sight that the world started to move again, and Naruto realised that people were already leaving the class. In fact the only one besides him who hadn't taken his leave yet was Kiba, and that was for the simple reason that he was impatiently waiting for Naruto to get out the way.

"Who the hell was _that_?!" Naruto breathed. He looked back at Kiba. "That girl with the black hair."

At first Kiba couldn't do much but stare at Naruto, both confused by how completely different he was acting to his usual self and uncertain as to which black haired girl he was referring to. It came to him however after a few seconds of thought, and despite his earlier misgiving with Naruto, he decided to divulge the answer to his question.

"I guess you're talking about Hyuga Hinata." He said, glancing to the door that girl had left by. "After the exams finished she left with her father on some training exercise. By the look of things she must've just got back today." He put his attention back to Naruto, who was looking at him intently, hungry to know more. "Wait, don't tell me you're thinking-" he started, before becoming quickly serious. "Don't even think about it. Just _don't_. That girl is the heiress to one of Konoha's most famous clans. Her status alone makes her even less approachable than _Haruno Sakura_ for crying out loud!"

Kiba must have feared the worst from the look on Naruto's face. And his convictions must really have been strong for him to want to warn off someone who had severely irritated him not long before. Yet even so when Naruto looked at Kiba, what he saw was very different from the boy who had walked into this class exhausted and without a care for anything that was going on around him. The light in his eyes had returned, and it was as fierce as ever.

"What kinda person do ya take me for Kiba-chan?" he asked, slinging his sword over his shoulder and getting up to his feet. "I ain't about to fall over some girl I ain't even met yet. Even if she's an heiress with a good lookin' body."

Kiba remained suspicious even as he got to his feet, not looking away from Naruto for a second. "Alright…" in the end he found he didn't care and let the matter drop.

"Besides…" Naruto added in, as the two of them headed to the door. "You know my heart belongs to your sister!"

Kiba ignored that remark. That was Naruto's first sign that something was off.

* * *

There were few places in the academy where a student wasn't allowed to go. Obviously the Hokage's wing was off limits, but aside from that and a few rooms containing important documents the students were pretty much free to wander wherever they liked. Provided they had the skill to reach such places that was. As such you could see many of the younger students congregating on the grounds, while many of the senior students took to more interesting places, like balconies, the rooftops or even in the basements.

Even with all those available places however, there were some matters you could never escape. For example, a dog that needed some freedom to stretch its legs after having to sit still and quiet for two hours while his master attended class. Akamaru took full advantage of the thirty minutes he had, taking care of his business, tracking down strange smells and finding a place to defecate. All while Kiba strolled along, with Naruto joining him.

There was a stiff air between the two that Naruto didn't quite understand. It felt as though Kiba was only allowing Naruto to come with him on this walk because he couldn't muster up the will to turn Naruto away. That annoyed Naruto in many ways, because it made him look like a lonely pup or something. And the last thing he wanted was to be put on the same level as the little dog popping a squat in the grass without a shred of shame.

Figuring that a good way to change the mood would be to invite some fantasy, Naruto took his eyes through the tree line and up to the cloudy sky above. "Can't wait to be done with this place and get out into the field like a real ninja." He said. He was about to carry on when Kiba spoke up.

"You've been here for _three_ days!" He retorted with a sour look on his face. He would have said more, but he decided it wasn't worth it and moved on ahead to keep pace with Akamaru.

Naruto followed Kiba with his eyes and matched the pace himself, but kept behind to allow some distance between the two of them. "I do something to offend?" he asked with a frown, wondering what on earth he could have done to earn such treatment.

Kiba came to a quick halt and turned on his heels, showing Naruto the resentment on his face. "What makes you think you're even going to make it through the exams?!" he barked, his voice full of accusation and frustration. "I had friends who worked their butts off to try and become ninja for this village, but they just couldn't make it through and had to drop out! Then you show up without going through any of that and talk crap like saying these assignments are a waste of time?! You might be able to kick my ass on the sparring field, but don't think for a second I'm gonna stand here and listen to your shit!"

After that sudden explosion subsided Naruto could do little more than stand back and watch as Kiba angrily turned around and headed off, with Akamaru close to his heels. Even after the two of them were long out of sight Naruto was stuck staring into the distance with wide eyes and a raised brow. He had neither an idea of what just happened nor a clue as to how he was supposed to respond to it.

In the end it was easier to just shrug it off and leave Kiba to cool down. Naruto turned back to where he'd come from and made his way back there. That gave him a few minutes of peace and quiet to mull over what Kiba had said, well, screamed at him. It sounded to him like Kiba was getting too worked up over a small comment like that. Then again Naruto had known from the beginning that he wasn't going to just fit in like a missing cog that had found its way home. Hell, he'd practically made sure that wouldn't happen.

Eventually he found himself out of the woods and back on the stone path, passing the occasional one or two students heading one way or another. Checking them all out he found himself thinking on the different ways the younger students acted to the older ones. Was it true that some friendships formed in those early years would be broken by something like no longer being able to attend the same school? That sounded really shallow to Naruto, and the thought that Kiba would make such a big deal out of such shallow bonds breaking didn't ring true to his own perceptions at all.

Well, maybe this was one of those things that didn't have to make sense to him. That wouldn't be the first time that something about this village went against what he believed he knew about the world. And as painful as it was to think, the key to surviving in any society was always going to be a degree of conformity. Simply put, he had offended Kiba and possibly those other guys at the same time. As the outsider it was up to him to make things right, even if he thought the matter was bland and not worth fretting over.

For now however it was best to give Kiba some space until they could talk on more, for lack of a better word, _civil_ terms. Naruto considered going over to see what Sasuke was doing, but that guy never seemed to visit the same place twice and finding him would take too much time out of the interval to be worth it. Instead then Naruto reasoned that the best thing to do would be to find a vending machine and get some caffeine in his still sleepy body.

His walk took him through the lusher part of the academy grounds, where he was told a good number of the Kunoichi lessons took place. There were plenty of flowers both garden and wild variety to be seen, enough so that Naruto couldn't help cringing. Few of the women he'd been in the presence of in his life were the sort who would even care about things like flowers. They were more easily attracted to booze, gambling and casual… "relations". As such he had never really been in an environment one could call girly before. All he could safely say was that it made him feel pretty damn out of place.

Despite the décor being far from his liking, this was the only vending machine on campus that didn't sell that carbonated garbage that everyone else seemed to like. This would only be his second time visiting this particular machine, but so long as the others didn't change their stock, he could see a habit forming here. He reached the corner to the alcove that housed the vending machine, turned into it, and came to a sudden stop.

There she was again. Hyuga Hinata. Standing before the very vending machine Naruto sought, glancing over its wares with her back to him. Naruto found himself quickly taking the volume of his own noise into account as he watched Hinata, half obscured by the wall. She reached up on the balls of her feet to inspect the produces on the topmost shelves. Her posture had the effect of accenting certain qualities, particularly between her lower back and thighs, that drew Naruto's focus down-

"It's normally considered good manners if you introduce yourself to someone before you ogle them." Hinata remarked. Naruto's eyes darted up and he realised to his shame that the black cans in the vending machine allowed the glass to reflect him very well, meaning Hinata could see him clearly. "Though in your case you needn't bother."

Finally deciding what it was she wanted, Hinata dropped back down onto her heels and began inserting money into the vending machine. Meanwhile Naruto continued to look at her reflection in the glass. He could only make out her eyes that somehow maintained that mysticism even when undergoing such a simplistic task as buying a drink. It was hard to explain, but looking at this girl felt almost like looking at a walking spirit.

Shaking off that strange notion, Naruto realised the silence had carried on far too long for his liking and he hastily collected himself. "Didn't think I had that big a reputation already." He remarked with a grin. "Your friends say nice things about…"

His words were stalled as Hinata's order dropped to the tray below and she bent down to fetch it. Apparently his staring was more noticeable than he thought, for on her way down Hinata scooped her dress beneath her to avoid any risk of revealing that which she did not want to be seen. Naruto caught her eyes in the glass fixed upon his and pointedly looked elsewhere.

"About me?" he finished, figuring out too late how feeble that sounded.

Hinata took her drink and straightened up, rolling the can of iced tea in her hand thoughtfully, as if confirming her choice as correct. "I have no need of people like friends in order to know who you are, Uzumaki-san." She said matter-of-factly. "I only needed to see you as you walked into the classroom this morning to know everything I could ever care to know. More than I cared to know in fact."

Even though she spoke in such a delicately passive tone, Naruto couldn't do anything but notice the sharp inflections in the air between them. This situation was entirely alien to him, and yet at the same time strangely inviting. A new experience he wanted to make the most of. "Man, if words were daggers that might've actually stung a little." His voice was full of sarcastic scepticism. "You really think you know me from one look?"

Hinata was on the verge of opening her can, but halted at Naruto's question. "Well, you are a delinquent who seems to show an odd sort of pride in being half naked in public. You show off your body while at the same time keeping much of your face in shadow, suggesting that you would rather people see you for what's there on the flesh, further indicating a fear of being known and understood, possibly lest someone sees who you really are and isn't impressed. In short, you are a vagrant with self esteem issues who covers his insecurities through brash methods of intimidation." It was at this moment that she turned around, displaying the calmest and most elegant smile on her face. "Oh, and in case you were wondering, no. I am _not_ impressed."

Once again Naruto found himself completely astounded by the words of his fellow classmates, yet this time was for very different reasons indeed. No, Naruto wasn't simply stunned to silence by Hinata's words as he was Kiba's. Quite the opposite as a matter of fact. He could feel his usual mood breaking down as his brow creased into a frown and the grin he so often wore slipped right off his face.

Just as he opened his mouth to shoot out a response, Hinata twitched her finger and opened her can, shutting Naruto up with a hiss. "Oh, my apologies. Did my ten second analysis based on a first impression hit you so deeply?" she asked with a clear expression of amusement. She stepped around Naruto, making no effort to distance herself in spite of the dangerous look on his face, and turned the corner. "Please don't take it so personally. After all, you did ask."

Naruto did something he had not done in a long time and growled. "Where the hell do you-" he snarled and grabbed at Hinata's arm. But before he could do anything more Hinata turned around and put a hand on his chest.

"If you have anything you wish to discuss with me, you could at the very least put some effort into making yourself far more refined than the way you are now." She said, offering Naruto a sweet and gentle gaze. "I fear that merely being seen with you would be enough to dirty my public status. Now I ask you not to prolong this little get-together any longer. Farewell."

And with that she spritely turned around and walked away, leaving Naruto to look after her until she had disappeared. Well, simply look after was not the right way to put it. He fell against the wall, barely able to stand or even keep his eyes open. There was something strange going on with his heart, a fluttering or a shuddering that did not feel normal at all. The not so funny thing was, that was exactly where that Hinata girl had placed her hand. What did she do to him just now?

Whatever it was, it passed after a minute or so. When it was gone Naruto was able to straighten himself up, though he did so with caution. After making sure he wasn't about to have a cardiac arrest or something he managed to pull a grin on his face, weak and shaky though it was. A large part of him wanted to chase after that Hyuga Hinata and pay her back for what she'd done. Another part wanted to stay way out of her way. That was new. That was… very interesting.

"More refined than the way I am now huh?" he repeated once he was confident enough to start walking. "I'll show you refined, you uptight bitch!"

Making his steady way towards the courtyard, he caught sight of a familiar face emerging from the woods. Though Kiba didn't quite look like he'd cooled off all the way, Naruto couldn't afford to give him much more time. Morning interval would soon be over, and he wanted to take advantage of every minute he had left to talk about this assignment of theirs. He had a doozy of an idea.

* * *

His eyes were closed. His back was straight. His body was limber. His mind was clear. All of his senses readied themselves and his instincts were primed for the event that would change his academy life forever. Everyone was watching him, waiting to see what would become of him in these next few minutes. There was not one part of him that had any intention of doing less than utterly amazing each and every single one his classmates, from the put out Inuzuka Kiba to the pompous Hyuga Hinata. Determination poured out of his form in a fiery aura that ignited the air and made his blood boil. Then, when there were no further preparations to be made, he opened his eyes and faced the trial ahead.

He faced Haruno Sakura.

The entire class and instructors alike watched with bated breath as the infamous newcomer and the head student of the year stood in the middle of the sparring field, waiting for the signal that would begin their match. Naruto was without coat or blade, his torso free for everyone to see. It was a stark contrast to Sakura, whose clothes allowed no skin below her neck or above her wrists and ankles to be visible. In fact, between the two of them there were only two details that they had in common. Neither refused for a second to take their eyes off the other. And both were eagerly awaiting the signal of their instructor to begin.

Iruka went through the motions again of trying to convince himself to call off the match, but still he could not see a way to do it. Having come as far as to call out their names, reneging that command would only harm the level of respect his students had for him. By now the initial shock had worn off and they were all eagerly anticipating the upcoming fight. Even Sasuke, who had been halfway to the sparring field after Sakura's name was called, was now watching with an intrigued smile as for the first time in years he got to see Sakura from an outside perspective. Even more so considering who her opponent was.

As a final desperate measure Iruka looked to Mizuki, hoping in vain that his fellow instructor's concerns would be enough to justify calling off the match. He should have known that was not to be however, for it was Mizuki himself that had convinced Iruka to call out Sakura and Naruto for this match up. As it was Mizuki looked just as excited for what was about to happen as the students were. And so, defeated and without hope, Iruka lifted his whistle to his lips and sharply blew on it.

The tone of the whistle was like the firing of the first arrow that started the war. Sakura took on her combative stance in a heartbeat. It was an impressive position. Her centre was extended away from the enemy by careful positioning of her legs. She held her arms in a careful yet firm form, one ready to defend and the other ready to attack. What was more, she stood on the balls of her feet, ready to move in any direction she needed to. It was the perfect stance for the method of taijutsu that was taught to almost every student within the academy.

From the crowd Kiba wore a grin that he never had when Sakura took to the field. Naruto was the reason for this change in attitude. A large part of him wanted to see how he held up against Sakura, while a smaller part of him just wanted to see the guy get his ass kicked for his earlier offence. He wasn't as mad at Naruto after what happened in the last ten minutes of the interval, but he still thought that Sakura was the perfect one to demonstrate just why one should take the academy seriously.

But then something from the corner of his eye caught his attention, just like it did for everyone else. His vision was dragged towards the other combatant, to Naruto, who was just initiating his own combative stance. However even from this angle Kiba could see that the posture Naruto took on was indisputably _not_ what he had used when he fought against Kiba the other day. No, what he and everyone else saw, was a form that made his earlier performance seem amateurish in comparison.

Naruto had hunched himself forward just a little, pulling back his gut and guarding it with his elbows. He was turned slightly away from Sakura, his left side taking the forward position while his right foot kept its heel off the ground. His left arm protected his front while his right stayed back. Whereas Sakura looked ready to avoid any oncoming attack, he looked ready to face it head on. And he looked like he could take it too.

As Kiba started to ponder the increasingly depressing implications of the way Naruto held himself in contrast to how he did in _their_ fight, Ino instead was becoming aware that neither Naruto nor Sakura was willing to make the first move. She was surprised to see in Naruto's eyes a level of seriousness that she didn't really think suited him. And Sakura wasn't being her usual violent self either, like she was with Sasuke. Concerned that things were going to be boring, Ino did what she did best. She stirred up the crowd.

"DO IT NARUTO!" she whooped loudly. "TAKE HER DOWN!"

Sasuke looked at Ino and knew what she was doing. On a whim he decided to support her and smiled, which immediately set off the girls around him into doing just as she did. Before long everyone was crying out the name of who they wanted to win. Interestingly, it wasn't a one sided kind of support. There were a good few members of the class calling out for Sakura too.

Naruto could feel the excitement of the crowd grinding against his own enthusiasm, sparking up a friction storm that coupled with his own blazing flames. The energy washed over him and adrenaline poured through his veins, making him twitchy and unable to stay still. Then, when he could stand it no more, he kicked off the ground and dashed at Sakura head on, restraining himself from verbally crying out in time to his supporters.

Sakura moved as soon as Naruto cut the distance between them in half. She didn't attack him head on, but instead darted to his left, hit the ground, slid into a spin and followed through with her knee. Her speed was greater than Naruto's, and her leg charged through the air, her foot headed straight for his exposed waist. There was no time to dodge, and no time to block. There wasn't even time for the crowd to register what was happening, before-

"Hn!" Sakura barely contained her gasp. Naruto gave out a grunting, visceral laugh.

Her foot was pressed against his waist, having hit its desired target. Yet Naruto was in no pain, nor did he seem the least bit fazed by her attack. In fact he turned the tables on her in an instant, sharply sidestepping and throwing her off her balance. While she was trying to get her feet on the ground he moved in with a swift jab aimed for her head. She barely managed to avoid it, but that was the extent of what she could do. All of a sudden Naruto had her trapped in a flurry of swipes from either side that forbade her from doing anything but backpedal.

"The hell just happened?!" Kiba thought aloud with a confused frown. "She didn't do any damage?!"

"He's better than I thought." Sasuke remarked with a smile in response to Kiba's query, earning the Inuzuka's attention. "Sakura doesn't put any force behind her attacks until just before it connects to conserve stamina. Any smart fighter does that. Naruto saw through it and made sure her kick hit sooner than she wanted it to, so she _couldn't_ do any real damage." He glanced at Kiba and smirked. "I guess he's been holding out on us."

By the time that matter was cleared up and the two of them resumed spectating the fight, Sakura had managed to break free of Naruto's assault with a feigned sweep kick that was really a side roll. Naruto had braced himself to counter the kick, so when Sakura was out of his range and back on her feet, his only choice was to correct his stance. A wise move, since she immediately pressed on.

She stepped into his personal space and was met with a forward jab, but she dodged ever so slightly and grabbed at his wrist. However just as she did this Naruto pulled back and with his strength advantage pulled her in so his other fist could take a shot. At such a close range Sakura couldn't hope to dodge the punch. The blow struck the side of her head, causing stars to flash across her field of vision. But she didn't fall, she didn't stumble. And yet Naruto didn't follow up his attack despite the opportunity. Namely because of the blow Sakura had dealt to _him._

Her fingers were curled, but not into a conventional fist. They were tightened so that her second row of knuckles were in line with the back of her hand. With her hand like that, she'd driven it through Naruto's guard in an uppercut that hit not his chin, but his throat.

The crowd winced as both Naruto and Sakura stood, almost frozen in place. More than a few of them flashed anxious glances to the instructors, both of whom looked rather troubled by what they saw. What Sakura had just done was, while not necessarily a forbidden move, was a strike to a vital area that students had been warned to avoid. The academy didn't teach its students to kill, and would not put up with students who leant toward lethal techniques.

"Are they going to allow that?" asked Choji, as Naruto and Sakura split apart with a stumble.

Shikamaru shrugged. "That guy's got a weird healing ability." He said. "And he's high profile, no doubt. Maybe they wanna see just how far he can go?"

Naruto massaged his throat while Sakura was still disoriented. God damn it, what kind of punch was that?! No one he'd ever fought against had pulled out a move like that, and he'd scrapped with some of the dirtiest fighters south _and_ north of any damn place! It hurt like hell and made breathing almost into a painful chore. Well, now he understood Sakura a little better. There was no need to keep pulling his punches. And now was the prime time to prove it.

A confident smile stretched across his face as he fixed his stance and waited for Sakura to pick herself up off the ground. His punch had left her on all fours for a few seconds, but now she was able to stand. He noticed from her pissed off look that she'd been feigning at the end to try and lure him in. Taking notes out of that Sasuke guy's book huh? She took on her own stance again and the air became tight once more. But this time it was not the crowd that set things off. It was Naruto. And he did so by reaching for his back pocket.

The glint in Sakura's eye was visible only for a millisecond before she dashed in to take advantage of the opening Naruto had made in his defences. Startled by her speed, Naruto tried to raise his guard back up in time to block Sakura's attack. But he couldn't make it in time. Again, Sakura was too fast. What was more, Naruto realised much too late that the glint wasn't from her eye. It was from her kunai. She intended to do as Shikamaru had that first day and end it with a touch to a vital area.

If only that were enough to wipe the grin from Naruto's face.

"_Shunshin!"_

His entire body flickered in a sudden and impossible burst of speed. Before Sakura even knew what hit her he'd eliminated the distance between them for her, but had gotten closer than even she had wanted. All she saw before he made his move was the manic glee on his face that said he couldn't be happier with the current circumstances.

First, he struck her with his right shoulder, throwing a lot of his weight behind the charge. This not only brought Sakura to a sudden, near bone breaking halt, but it knocked the wind out of her and stunned her, leaving her to find her feet even while her chest almost burst with pain. The shock of that left her open for the next manoeuvre.

Second, he lashed out with the edge of his right arm, hitting Sakura's face with the strength of a wooden bat. In just that blow alone he succeeded in knocking her into a daze, blurring her vision and triggering a high pitched ringing in her ear. But even then he was not done. The purpose of that attack was to disrupt her senses and leave her vulnerable for one last move.

He switched his stance, bringing back his right side and throwing his left forward. With this he primed his left fist and hurled it through the air, driving it up with the knuckles aimed straight for Sakura's jaw.

"_That's-!"_ Kiba started, recognising the uppercut that had taken him down. Though he wasn't on the same tier as Sakura, he also hadn't taken such a vicious blow as she just had. He knew exactly what that meant. This match was over!

"Ha." Sasuke laughed, a knowing glimmer in his eye.

Naruto's fist was less than a foot away from Sakura's jaw when all of a sudden the pink haired girl opened her eyes. With a fierce glare she hurled out her hand, throwing dirt at Naruto's face. Naruto managed to close his eyes in time to avoid being blinded, but it came at the cost of failing to finish his combo. Swiftly wiping the dirt away he looked again, his defences raised for the expected counterattack. Which was why he was so surprised to see Sakura still in a stupor, staggering left and right.

Not willing to miss this opportunity, Naruto stepped in to deal another flurry of jabs that would whittle Sakura down without exposing himself to another cheap shot like that. He reached her and swiped with his fist, successfully hitting her. But the very second he touched her she dissipated, leaving nothing but empty air where she ought to have been. Naruto realised with a sudden dropping of his jaw that he had just punched a clone. He was wide open-

A cold, thin edge of a blade pressed lightly against his throat, and right away he closed his eyes, defeated. He could feel Sakura behind him, her arm over his shoulder and holding the kunai that marked this match as over. Though losing his fights was a concept he was familiar with, he'd hoped that fighting against people his size and age would give him an edge. Apparently it didn't.

The sound of Iruka's whistle was as sharp as it was final. With it came the withdrawal of Sakura's blade and the falling of Naruto's stance. The two of them turned around to face each other in order to perform the necessary gesture. Naruto looked at Sakura's face and saw the ferocity that had filled her draining away until she was in turn looking at Naruto. He had expected her to switch to her usual blank indifference, but that wasn't so. In fact, she looked him dead in the eyes, searching deeply. For what, Naruto had no clue.

After a moment she held out her hand with her fore and middle fingers outstretched, waiting for Naruto to do the same. For a second Naruto was hesitant. The gesture was basically a way of saying "no hard feelings". Or in other words, the loser accepting that he had lost.

"Would you hurry up?" Sakura demanded in a low voice, her frown framing her impatience. "And wipe that stupid smile off your face!"

Naruto blinked, before touching his face. He was smiling? No… he was _beaming!_ For whatever reason there was the biggest grin stretched across his face right now. Why in the hell was he doing that? Why didn't he feel angry, or ashamed? Everyone had just seen him lose! They knew what his limits were! Now they…

All of a sudden Naruto's mind blanked on him. No thoughts could coherently form. Not a single one. He was running on pure emotional drive as his eyes wandered away from Sakura and into the crowd of students. One by one he looked at them, seeing only their surprised and expectant faces as they waited for Naruto to wrap things up. They didn't jeer him like they did Kiba. That was because they didn't know him. No…

It was because to them, he was a blank slate.

As he found his eyes travelling back to Sakura, he could feel his emotions coming to match his expression. He may have lost this fight, but it was one placed on much more even ground. It wasn't because of major disadvantage he'd lost, but because the challenge was just a little out of his reach. The fight was, surprisingly enough, more fun than he'd ever had in a fight before. And to cap it all off, no one was looking down on him for having lost.

"Hurry up!" Sakura hissed with growing annoyance.

Naruto did just that. Putting his heart into his grin he reached out and took Sakura's hand in the gesture as per academy standard, announcing that there were no hard feelings between either the two of them. From just off to the side he caught Iruka giving an approving nod, and in his embarrassment he cut off the gesture. He and Sakura stood there for a few seconds more as Sakura continued to search Naruto for something, before she walked past him to do her own thing. Naruto too headed back to the crowd, filled with an odd feeling in his gut he didn't quite understand.

* * *

Naruto sat in the back of the half filled classroom, his feet on the desk and his eyes on the ceiling. He looked quite idle, but nothing was farther from the truth. Ever since Hyuga Hinata entered into the room and took the same seat she'd occupied herself in earlier he found his mind flying over the details he had discussed with Kiba over the interval and lunch breaks. What had first been an assignment he planned to purposefully flunk on was now one he couldn't stop thinking about. Funny how things change.

The sound of someone dropping into the seat beside him brought him out of his thoughts on the upcoming project, but as it was Kiba he expected this was only to a slight degree. The remainder of those thoughts drifted away when he found out he was wrong in his assumption. It was as it turned out not Kiba who sat down next to Naruto, but someone else altogether. A welcome presence all the same, maybe even more so considering how much of the day had been spent in Kiba's company already.

Ino stretched herself out in a fashion that was more than a little attention grabbing. When she was done she saw Naruto watching her and gave him a cheeky smile. "You're not sitting next to your beloved Sasuke-kun?" Naruto asked with a suggestive cock of the brow. "You'll just make him jealous."

"Let him be jealous then." Ino replied with a passing glance to Sasuke, who quickly averted his gaze and pretended not to notice. Her smile widened at that, but then she leant towards Naruto and spoke in a sultry voice. "I just felt like sitting over here. You don't have a problem with that do you?"

One by one the rest of the class ambled their way into the room, filling the seats until soon there were only a couple of spaces left. Kiba and Sakura were among the students still missing, though as the pattern of the class had dictated both would arrive before the instructor did. With that said, there were now hardly any seats left to take. Ino had made her choice and now she'd have to stick to it. Knowing she'd chosen to sit next to him was intriguing to say the least.

"Of course not." He said, returning her smile with his own lacking innocence.

Pleased to be accepted, Ino relaxed further onto the bench while Naruto leant forward so not to let his thoughts play across his face. Sasuke had said that Ino would be a tough person to get close to, because she was quick to group people together instead of looking at the individual. He wasn't sure now how much of that was Sasuke trying to protect that harem delusion of his, but all the same he didn't want to take chances. Ino was connected, and interested in him. He'd have to make sure that interest lasted if he wanted to make the best out of a decent situation.

Kiba entered into the class at that time, with Akamaru close on his heels. He found Naruto in a second, but was distracted by the presence of Ino beside him. Ino didn't pay Kiba nearly as much attention as he did her while he climbed up the stairs to take his seat, but he didn't ask about what she was doing there either. As a matter of fact after Akamaru climbed his way up to the desk through an impressive pair of jumps from bench to tabletop, he had decided to do as Ino did and ignore the other person completely.

"I've been wondering about something."

Two heads turned in Ino's direction, but it was to Naruto whom she was looking. "Everybody here wants to be a ninja either because they want to do their part for the village or they come from a clan that expects it of them." She said, slouching down on the desk and resting her head in her arms, all while keeping her questioning attention upon Naruto. "But since you aren't even from the village, why do you want to be a ninja here?"

Naruto stared blankly back at Ino. There was something about that question that seemed oddly personal, considering that he and Ino barely knew each other. But from what he had come to understand, Ino was the type of girl that didn't see the line between what was and what wasn't personal or public information. That said, Naruto was starting to think that holding all his secrets in a vice grip wasn't going to get him anywhere. A certain haughty classmate of his had suggested as much to him.

"Why I wanna be a ninja huh?" he wistfully looked at the ceiling. So as a result of resolving to be more open, he was given one of the most awkward questions that could be asked of him. Even as he gave his answer, he couldn't bring himself to keep up his usual demeanour about it. "I guess you could say it's because of a gamble. One that puts my life on the line." His eyes sharpened and his expression became tougher, as did a thin grin appear on his face. "The stakes are high and I got no time to waste. I _gotta_ become a ninja. No two ways about it."

There was a silence as Ino and Kiba stared at Naruto, neither of them feeling less curious for the answer they had received. Kiba tried to restrain his curiosity, but Ino made no such attempt. She opened her mouth to enquire further, but it was at that time that Sakura entered the room, signifying the coming of Iruka and Mizuki and by extension, the start of the lesson. Naruto, who had come to recognise this signal quite easily, perked up in a second.

"Looks like things are ready to begin." He said, his usual intensity returning to him.

As foretold by the arrival of Sakura, Iruka and Mizuki did indeed walk into the room but moments later. Once everyone, including themselves, were seated and ready to begin, Mizuki lifted up a register and took the lead. "Alright now it's normal to go in alphabetical order with these things, but just to make sure there's nobody down the list planning on cobbling together a story based on what his or her classmates perform, we're going to mix things up and call out names at random." He said, searching around for any suddenly nervous faces.

"I'll repeat the scenario just to remind you all." Iruka chimed in; willingly taking the back seat to what was typically Mizuki's field of work. "You are on a mission to steal important documents that have been hidden in the palace of a Feudal Lord, obviously not our own. You have been spotted trespassing in an area not open to the public and have to talk your way out of trouble."

"The role of the guards will naturally be played by Iruka-sensei and myself." Mizuki added with a nod and a smirk. "With that said, let's begin with… Inuzuka Kiba."

Disgruntled at being picked first, Kiba got up to his feet and began the descent to the front of the room. He pointed straight at Akamaru as the little dog started to follow, signalling silently for him to stay, which he did. Kiba took the centre stage and faced the instructors, waiting for things to begin. Iruka and Mizuki shared a knowing smile that brought everyone's attention to them. Then, quite rapidly, it started.

"What do you think you're doing over here?!" Mizuki suddenly yelled, rising to his feet and slamming his hands on the desk. "These parts are out of bounds!"

Kiba was startled by the unexpected volume being thrown at him.

"I'm gonna search him." Iruka said, getting up and stepping around the desk. "He looks like a thief."

"H-hey wait a minute!" Kiba irately barked, backing off from Iruka as the instructor approached him. Clearly by the unusual stammering Kiba was not expecting this kind of attack, nor had he prepared for it at all. "I'm not thief alright?! I was with the tour group when my dog ran off!" he recovered quickly and whistled sharply. "Hey Akamaru! Where are you?!"

At the call the little dog jumped off the desk and ran down to meet his master, who scooped him up to show the two "guards". Iruka and Mizuki managed to keep up their guises with suspicious looks, though the class could tell they wanted to roll their eyes; something that everyone else demonstrated was well within their ability.

"Are you stupid?!" Mizuki shouted, joining Iruka in front of the desk and glaring at Kiba. "You can't bring animals into the Feudal Lord's palace!"

"If he takes a whizz on a rug, that's a one million ryo whizz that you'd spend the rest of your life paying for!" Iruka snapped.

"I didn't see a sign saying no dogs!" Kiba yelled. It was clear by this point he was just improvising as best as he could, and doing a frankly terrible job of it. Several students cringed at the mess he was making of his "act", Naruto and Ino included.

Iruka sighed irritably into his hand and sternly looked at Kiba again. "I'm going to escort you off the premises." He said. "We'd better not see you or your dog here again!"

"Fine!"

"And scene." Mizuki announced, sitting down on the desk and folding his arms, his angered façade drifting away and was replaced with professional boredom. "A technical success, but there were several bad decisions that you made." He then raised his voice. "Haruno Sakura, why don't you explain to him what he did wrong?"

Naruto frowned as he looked between Mizuki and Sakura, who was getting to her feet. There was something off about the way he just called out to her like that, at least in his opinion. No one else appeared to find it strange though, and all of them listened with varying degrees of politeness as Sakura began to give her review.

"First of all he failed to remain calm and collected." She said in a loud, clear voice. "Second, he agitated the guards by arguing with them. Third, he has made it impossible for him or Akamaru to return to the palace without arousing suspicion, making completing his mission at the very least more difficult than it needed to be."

Mizuki gave a nod of affirmation and Sakura sat back down. By now Kiba's ears were red and he kept his head low, perhaps imagining the sneers of his classmates. He was dismissed and returned to his seat with a scowl on his face, challenging anyone to make a barb at him. When no one did he let himself just sit there and stew in his bad mood, while the rest of the class moved on.

One by one more names were called out and more performances were given, with each one broken down to highlight the good and bad that was shown. Thankfully for the sake of Kiba's ego he wasn't the only one to do such a bad job, though from another perspective one could also thankfully say those numbers were very low. Most of the students seemed to know what they were doing and did a decent job of incorporating the pointers of the instructors into their acts.

After about a half hour and twelve students, including an interesting performance from Shino that somehow resulted in Iruka and Mizuki getting caught up in a logical paradox, the difference between the students who had yet to stand before the instructors and those who had were becoming clearer. Those who were still to go anxiously watched each student for hints as to how to do better, while most of those who had already done their part simply watched in amusement at the various displays.

"And now let's have… Uzumaki Naruto."

All eyes fell upon Naruto then, each and every one of them wondering just how the newest member of their class was thinking. What they saw was a confident grin and the shine of his eyes that went along with his reputation. Ino slipped out of the way and allowed him to get up. As he began to make the climb down the stairs he passed a sideways look to Hyuga Hinata, who gave him the same smile she'd delivered when she had laid to him one of the deepest insults of his life. But this time he didn't let it get to him. He did however zip up his jacket and lower his hood as he approached the instructors.

He didn't take to the middle of the floor as everyone else had. He came to a stop at the bottom of the stairs, fixing himself up and taking in a deep breath. The feeling of everyone giving him their undivided attention was not as nerve wracking as it was for the others who had come before him. As a matter of fact, he would have been disappointed if even one person wasn't looking this way. He wanted them all to see what was about to happen.

And so the instructors continued to wait for him to fall in line and stand before them. But that he did not do. Once he was ready he dropped off the final step, putting himself on the floor. The very instant after he turned on his heel and walked straight for the door.

"Hey!" Mizuki called out, confused and annoyed. "Where do you think you're going?!"

Naruto came to a stop at the door, which he had already opened a slither. He looked over his shoulder first, flashing Mizuki a surprised expression, before turning around and facing his instructors.

And then, he began.

"Good evening." He said, taking a hand to his chest and giving a polite bow. "The young master has requested I bring him tea imported from Fire Country. I was just on my way to fetch it."

Though already quiet, the silence deadened as everyone's eyes widened at Naruto's display. Even the instructors, who had thought Naruto was walking out of the class, were thrown by the character he was showing them right now. It took them several seconds to recover, and when they did, they did it with a cough.

"And who are you exactly?" Iruka asked with a doubtful frown.

Surprise flashed on Naruto's face this time. "I am the servant of the young master, of course." He said with his own look of uncertainty. "Is there some sort of problem?"

From the back of the class Ino could hardly believe what she was looking at. Never, never in a thousand years had she expected to see something like this. Naruto, the same guy who had in his first day matched Sasuke's standing among the girls with his intense and dangerous characteristics was now acting reserved and polite. She looked to Kiba to see if he was as gobsmacked as she was, but instead what she saw was a smirk upon the dog lover's face.

Mizuki then recaptured her attention by speaking up. "You expect us to buy that?" he asked with a glare. "You're far too young to be a servant and even if you were, you look more like a street urchin than a..."

His words trailed off as Naruto's frown deepened and the intensity of his eyes almost blazed out at him. It was rare to see someone so young with such a harsh stare, so just seeing it was enough to silence Mizuki. "I am a butler to the son of our lord!" he exclaimed hotly, despite managing to keep his voice level. "I may look young, but I am fourteen years of age! And as for my state of dress, the young master is a child who does not like the stuffiness of adults and requested a servant whom is closer to his age and dresses casually. Now if you please…"

With that he turned away and opened the door again to leave the class altogether. But though Iruka and Mizuki were initially thrown by Naruto's choice of persona, they had adapted by now and were willing to play ball. "Hold on there!" Mizuki said, hiding his scorn weakly. "If you really are a servant under the Feudal Lord's employ then you should know that tea is kept in the kitchen, in the other wing of the palace!"

Naruto paused at this and looked at Mizuki. He wasn't the only one. Iruka too was looking at his co-worker, as well as several members of the class, including Sasuke, Sakura, Kiba, Ino, Hinata and Shikamaru. They weren't sure if it was exactly fair for Mizuki to throw that bit of information at Naruto, especially when no one else had had such a thing done to them.

However just as Iruka was about to quietly bring the issue up, Naruto gave his response. "I beg your pardon, but I have been serving the young master for three years now." he said in what sounded like very forced calm. "As such I should know where the young master's tea is kept. For your information the teas he prefers are an expensive variety bought with his own allowance. The young master does not wish for this expensive and high quality tea to get mixed up with the rest of the palace stock, and so keeps it in a private pantry. As security staff I would not expect you to know this."

His recovery was so fast it was almost breakneck, and it came out so well that both instructors were stalled by it. Rather than wait for them to come up with something new to say Naruto instead took advantage of their lack of speech to wrap things up.

"Now I would ask you don't keep me any longer. If the young master asks why I am late bringing him his afternoon tea I won't hesitate to tell him that you were inconveniencing his private butler. Good evening to you both."

With that Naruto stepped out of the classroom and closed the door behind him, leaving the other students and the instructors alike to stare at the door in disbelief. Only a couple of students showed little to no shock at what they had been shown, one of those students being Kiba. Little by little though they all drew their attention over to the instructors, who were doing their best not to show how flabbergasted they were. That said, it was clear what they were reluctantly thinking.

Naruto had passed with flying colours.

* * *

At the end of the day Kiba was able to laugh loud and hard as he walked out of the academy doors and into the afternoon sunlight. He was accompanying Naruto, who had more than one reason to share in his friend's upbeat attitude. In addition to passing the assignment with near impeccable marks, following a discussion between Iruka and Mizuki he had been told that he would not be reprimanded for his lateness. No one said anything, but the way Mizuki sheepishly stated as much told Naruto volumes about the nature of his and Iruka's talk.

Kiba wasn't the only one who had decided to leave with Naruto. Interestingly enough Ino chose to stick with the blond boy in order to give him her own interrogation in regards to his performance. She was asking him all sorts of questions, like why he chose to act as a butler of all things and how on earth he was able to react so fast to Mizuki's assault.

After laughing again at the look on Mizuki's face as he'd said there would be no punishment, Naruto unzipped his jacket and let the cool breeze blow over his skin. "Somebody told me I should act more refined." He said, surprised that not even the memory of his meeting with Hyuga Hinata could succeed in bringing down his mood. "I gave it a shot and you know what? That was pretty damn _fun!_"

"Ooh!" Ino hummed with a playful stroke to Naruto's arm. "You like acting do you?"

"No, it's not that." Naruto replied, his sunny smile doing plenty to keep Ino and Kiba's attention on him, if only because it went so against how they had come to see him so far. "I've always been treated a certain kinda way, cos of where I come from and how I am with people. But seeing the way Iruka-sensei and Mizuki-sensei reacted to the butler me was… kinda awesome. Not just that, it felt really weird acting like that. But a good weird, y'know?"

Again Kiba laughed, though this one was smaller and more passing than before. "It sure as hell _looked_ weird." He admitted. "So what're you saying? You gonna start serving tea and waiting on some snooty jackass hand and foot?"

"Don't listen to that flea boy!" Ino scoffed.

"WHO YOU CALLING A FLEA BOY?!"

Ino squinted at Kiba in order to shut him up, before returning to Naruto. "It's always good to have a hobby, especially if it's something that makes you more cultured." She explained, receiving a nod of understanding from Naruto. She then however took hold of his arm and hugged it, whispering flirtatiously into his ear. "Just make sure you don't lose that wild edge alright? That would be such a shame."

Against his better instincts the feeling of Ino's warm breath on his ear made him shiver, which in turn gave Ino plenty of reason to laugh herself as she let go of him. In spite of that embarrassment Naruto gave Ino's advice a lot of careful thought. A hobby huh? Well it wasn't like he had anything else to do with his free time, so that didn't sound so bad.

"Sure, why not?" he said as a grin much more fitting of the Naruto that Ino and Kiba knew came upon his face. "Gotta say, if these are the kind of assignments we're gonna be getting, this is gonna be one hell of an entertaining year."

To this Kiba loudly snorted, earning him a disgusted look from Ino that he firmly ignored. "Hate to break it to ya, but this is the final year." He said as the three of them approached the main gates. "The academy isn't like most schools. Here it's survival of the fittest. They're gonna work our asses off to make sure we got what it takes to even _try_ to pass the graduation exam." He paused for a moment, before assign with a toothy smile. "That said, this year is gonna fly by in no time at all. Just you watch."

The three of them reached the academy gates and stepped out into the street, headed off in the same direction. In doing so they passed a younger student who was waiting at the gates, her head bowed down and her eyes staring at her feet. She clutched her bag in her hands as students one by one passed her by with no more than the most fleeting of glances to her. She was a small, brown haired girl with few noticeable features. At least, so long as she kept her head bowed as she did.

After a minute of waiting the girl noticed a familiar pair of feet, and looked up to the one who had stopped beside her, showing a set of pale eyes just like that of her present company. "Good afternoon Hanabi-chan." Said Hinata, greeting her little sister with the same smile she always wore. "Shall we head home?"

"Oneesama…" Hanabi spoke in a small, unsure voice. When she lifted her head to meet her elder sister's gaze, her hair parted to reveal a strange green insignia marked on her forehead; one that was not upon Hinata's. "Yes."

The two Hyuga sisters stepped out into the street, walking towards their clan's compound. For a while the two of them stayed in silence, Hinata with her head held high and Hanabi with hers down low. As they made their way through the streets they were often looked upon by civilians and off duty ninja alike. Neither of them shied away from the attention, though Hanabi didn't welcome it.

"So how was your day?" Hinata asked, while greeting one of their clansmen with a wave.

"It was fine." Hanabi replied, wishing to leave it at that. However after a time of quiet she felt that her sister's attention was still on her, and given a quick look it was confirmed that Hinata was waiting for Hanabi to elaborate. "We had shuriken practice today."

"Oh?" Hinata chimed, reaching out and petting Hanabi on the head. "I wish I could have seen that. I'll bet watching you throwing shuriken around would have been absolutely _adorable!_"

Hanabi didn't say anything to that. She did however tighten her grip on her bag and stoop her head a little lower in a failed attempt to get her sister to stop petting her like a little animal. Instead she opted for the only other choice she seemed to have and returned to question to Hinata. "How was your day, oneesama?"

To this Hinata halted her petting, though only to hold her finger to her chin as she thought the query over. Following a few seconds of this a new smile came to her face as she settled on what she wanted to tell Hanabi. "Actually, today was quite exciting." She said, looking down at Hanabi with that wider smile. "I met the most interesting boy today."

"A… boy?" Hanabi repeated, watching her sister.

"Yes. His name is Uzumaki Naruto…"

* * *

Author Note:

First time putting a note at the end of a chapter. Just some incidentals, if anyone is having trouble imagining Hinata, I'll provide a couple of links to images that inspired her design (she's the only one inspired by pre-existing artwork). Also in case you missed Kiba's hint at the end, this chapter marks the timeskip that will conclude at the end of the academy year. With no characters left to introduce and Naruto's titular role beginning, I think it's time to get things moving, don't you?


	5. Chapter 5

No excuses for the lateness on this one. I'd personally prefer to shave a couple of days off my update speed. But I'm wiser than I was when I was still a newbie. I'm not going to rush my chapters just for the sake of a self imposed deadline. I want to make sure each and every one of them meets a standard, not a time limit. Anyways, as always, I hope you enjoy this chapter and share your thoughts!

* * *

**A playboy, a genius and a bandit butler**

There is no such thing as a single event. Each moment is backed by billions of years of history and countless other events that could have gone in numerous other ways to make this very event impossible. That is why the idea of destiny exists. Simply because there is too much chance in life for one to believe it was all a great big coincidence. To that end, when something that seems completely implausible occurs, it is best to accept it as the fated outcome and move on to your divined future.

That said, it doesn't mean you have to be happy with it.

"What is that supposed to mean?!"

These were the first words Kakashi heard as he slid open the door to the classroom and found himself looking upon an unwelcome sight. He was late upon arriving to the near empty class, which was now inhabited only by the three students who awaited him. That said not one of the students noticed him entering into the room. The reason for that was that two out of three students were in very close quarters, with the third watching with a bemused smile.

Uchiha Sasuke and Haruno Sakura were locked in a death glare, the metal of their forehead protectors scraping against each other as they pressed hard, neither of them willing to give up and back down before the other. Sasuke looked like an angry lion, while Sakura seemed more like an incensed panther. And not ten feet away from them, with his back against the blackboard and the most comfortable look on his face, was Uzumaki Naruto.

After taking in the strange first sight of the three of them, the next thing Kakashi took note of was that they all looked different than they did in their files. Sasuke was outfitted in a grey camouflage jacket and black pants, with weapon holster strapped to his thigh. Sakura wore a form fitting red coat with white shoulder and elbow guards, and navy leggings, her weapon holster hanging off her belt. Both fine choices of dress, one prepared for all weather and light stealth conditions, and the other allowing full manoeuvrability at all times. Neither was perfect, but they kept functionality in mind, so Kakashi couldn't complain. But then… there was Naruto.

Never in his whole career as a ninja had he ever seen anyone in his line of work dressing in such attire. A white dress shirt with a black tie, a black waistcoat with a silver fob watch chain hanging from the pocket and fresh pressed black trousers. Thankfully his footwear was at least appropriate, though at a glance it was clearly custom made. Kakashi had just begun to internally lament what Naruto was doing with the inheritance left for him by the Yondaime when he saw something that truly made him want to hit his head to the wall.

A lot of ninja liked to have some creativity when it came to their forehead protectors, as a way of creating some individuality from the uniform standard that came with being a higher rank of ninja. Some chose to wrap the fabric over their head as a bandana, some preferred to wear it around their neck and many others. Even Kakashi utilised the folded material of his forehead protector to cover his left eye. But what Naruto had done with his was beyond any of that.

What he had done was take the metal of the forehead protector, remove the fabric, and shave it down to a size about as large as a soup can. He had taken that rounded square of metal and beat it into shape, so he could make a _belt buckle_ out of it. Granted it was well done, keeping in tone with the rest of his dress, but the act alone was almost unspeakable. Given that, the untidy nature of his hair and that katana slung over his shoulder, the boy was a strange sight indeed. Enough so that within the first few seconds of seeing him, Kakashi felt his energy drain significantly.

But, that said, there was still a more attention grabbing situation going on at the moment. Namely the standoff between Sasuke and Sakura.

"Ahem!" Kakashi coughed.

In a second Sasuke and Sakura broke apart, surprised by Kakashi's arrival and embarrassed at being caught in such a position. There was a glimmer of recognition when Naruto noticed Kakashi, but aside from that the three of them fell in line pretty quick, even if the bitterness between two out of three was still clear to see.

"May I ask just what's going on in here?"

Sakura and Sasuke shot each other a nasty look. One that Kakashi could read easily. They were wondering which of them was going to plead to the adult first. As both were just beginning the magical journey known as puberty Kakashi could understand it, even if the thought was displeasing. Neither of them looked willing to come forward and confess, so Kakashi looked at Naruto.

"It was exactly what it looked like." Naruto said on cue. "They were about to make out-"

He abruptly stopped when Sasuke turned on him with as fierce a death glare as he'd given Sakura, who was pointedly ignoring the both of them. "It. Was. Not. Like. That!" Sasuke said loud and clear in Naruto's ear, before turning back to Kakashi and trying to cool himself off before he explained. "We just thought we'd work out some unresolved issues if we're going to be on a team together."

Kakashi glanced at Sakura, whose twist in expression told him that either she didn't want to discuss those issues or she didn't like the idea of her being on a team with one or both of the boys beside her. Given what he'd read in her file, Kakashi was sure that it was a mix of both. Either way this was hardly a stellar first meeting by any standard.

"I see." Kakashi said, setting a firm tone. He scratched his chin and looked at the ceiling for a moment, before dropping his gaze to the three again. "Well as far as first impressions go, I think you're all pretty pathetic."

That dropped a lead weight on each of their heads.

"But I suppose one should never judge a person on first impressions alone." He then said. He pushed the door open further and stepped aside, gesturing out into the hallway with an encouraging smile. "Why don't we go somewhere a little nicer and get to know one another?"

One by one the three prospective Genin filed out of the room, all the meeker for Kakashi's harsh words. Sakura wore a scowl, Sasuke was forcing some calm and Naruto glanced up at Kakashi with a somehow sheepish _and_ wolfish smile. They all awaited Kakashi as he shut the door, taking opportunity from having his back to them to allow a sigh. Well, he'd known this would be a tiring trio from the moment his father assigned them to him. It was time to see just how much so.

Originally Kakashi had planned to take them to the roof and let the familiar sight of the village spearhead their discussions. But he had a feeling there was a little too much ill will in the air for them to have a pleasant discussion like that. So instead he decided to go with something different and take them a little ways out to a more refreshing location.

For that, he chose the river that marked the edge of the Inuzuka clan's territory. It was quite a ways away from the academy, giving those three ample time to settle down. When they arrived, Kakashi led them down the grassy knoll towards the benches that lined the river, allowing the sounds of flowing water to further steady their minds. With the warm sun reflecting light off the river, birds chirping in the air and the smell of the fresh cut grass, there were few places in the village calmer than here. Well, it was the best Kakashi could do at a moment's notice.

So with the three of them seated on the bench, making sure to keep a degree of distance between each other, Kakashi leant against the railing that guarded the edge of the river and looked upon the graduated students who could very well become his charges. Despite his earlier disapproval at the way they interacted with one another, their report cards had plenty good to say about each individual. Each of them took up the top ranking positions of their year. Even Naruto, despite only a year of formal education, became third best in the entire class. That made for a promising team, and was the exact reason why they were handed to Kakashi.

Kakashi took some time to see just how much the top two of the year had settled down since leaving the academy. They both didn't look nearly as aggravated as they had back then, but there was something in the way they refused to look each other and made absolutely sure there was no physical contact between them that bothered Kakashi. That went on top of Sakura's equal resistance to getting close to Naruto. Even though she had plenty of room on the bench, she looked positively cramped in there. On the bright side, at least Naruto didn't make such an attempt to get away from her. That said, Kakashi couldn't let this matter continue without speaking up about it.

"You know you are all starting to come of age where it's expected that you'd want to begin dealing with your problems without the help of adults." He said, crossing his arms and sitting back on the railing. "But with that said it's only fair that we adults can expect you to try and resolve your issues as an adult should. That's why I don't want to see any of you butting heads like mountain goats. Are we clear on that?"

"Yes…" the three students said, pausing before they could say his name, mainly because none of them knew it. Well, Naruto should have known it, but it was obvious from the look on his face that he'd forgotten.

"With that out of the way, why don't we get down to introducing ourselves?" Kakashi suggested, deciding to take the opportunity to give his own introduction. "My name is Hatake Kakashi. My likes and dislikes are varied. My dream for the future is personal and I have many hobbies. Ok, you with the dark hair. Your turn."

Sasuke took a second to dryly stare at Kakashi and his uninformative introduction, before going ahead and doing as told. "I'm Uchiha Sasuke." He stated, before taking a pause for several long seconds as he mulled over what he wanted to say. "Uh… I like taking breaks and high places with a good view. My dislikes are… boring things I guess. I haven't really thought about dreams for the future. As for hobbies… I've always enjoyed card games."

Kakashi gave a wise nod to that. Had he chosen to be more descriptive in his introduction, he imagined what he would have said to be rather similar. "Good." He noted. He then set his eyes dead centre on the one who looked like she wanted to be anywhere but here. "How about you Stiff?"

There was a flicker in Sakura's eyes that suggested she didn't like the nickname, but understood why she got it. That was proven when she made herself slacken up so she didn't look so miserable where she sat. "My name is Haruno Sakura." She professed matter-of-factly. "I like art, music and reading. My dislikes are crude and lazy people. I don't have any hobbies. I spend any free time I have studying, training or helping my grandmother out with her store. As for my dream…"

It was then that she hesitated for longer than a moment. She bowed her head low and started taking slow breaths. Kakashi, Sasuke and Naruto were all watching her carefully, none sure exactly of what was going on with her or why she was all of a sudden so quiet. She started taking a tight grip of her knees. Kakashi was on the verge of moving things along for her sake when she lifted her head; a sharp and convicted look on her face.

"I wish to form a division with the purpose of ceasing crime all across Fire Country!" she announced with a little more volume than was necessary. "Just taking care of whatever wrongdoings that people can afford to hire us to stop isn't enough! We're not mercenaries are we?"

It was unclear as to whether or not she wanted an answer. She maintained fierce eye contact with Kakashi that looked either like that or a challenge to prove her wrong. However Kakashi did neither of this. He simply mulled over her words for a little while. _"That's pretty noble."_ He thought, gazing up at the clouds overhead. _"I suppose it makes a lot of sense, given her circumstances."_

Though it left her question hanging in the air, Kakashi preferred to move on in order to avoid the possibility of an argument brewing. This led him to Naruto, who was trying not to look like he was watching Sakura as closely as he was. It seemed that he and Sasuke were in the same boat. Neither knew quite what to make of Sakura's ambition. More than anything that served to tell Kakashi just how little they knew each other. But then, that was why these introductions were necessary.

"And you?"

The second Kakashi spoke out Naruto quickly redirected his attention to him, for Sakura had glanced his way. Even though he'd had all the time the other two were talking to make up his mind on what he wanted to say, it was only now that he began to give it some thought. "My name is Uzumaki Naruto." He started with the obvious, despite being well aware that everybody here knew it already. "I'm always into trying new things. Don't think I have any- oh, yeah! Soda! I hate soda!"

The animated exclamation earned him quizzical and to a degree incredulous stares from each of the present company.

"As for hobbies, I'm interested in martial arts, magic tricks and class hierarchy." He carried on as if he'd said nothing strange, but only served to make his previous statement all the more odd with such a varied follow up. However before any of the others could spend too long thinking about that, he shifted in his seat and took on a more serious expression. "My dream… how should I put it…?"

He spent a little more time thinking that over while Kakashi, Sakura and Sasuke all watched with growing interest. Sakura and Sasuke had never seen Naruto lost in thought before, and Kakashi had very good reasons for wanting to know what Naruto wanted in life, the biggest one being that the Godaime was even more interested than the three of them combined, understandably.

Naruto sat forward, his arms on his knees and his hands held together. There was a spark in his eyes and the curling of the corner of his lip that turned into a crooked smile that held just the slightest hint of malevolence behind it that Kakashi couldn't quite place. And then he spoke. "I have to become a master of Fuinjutsu." He declared as the other corner of his mouth rose to create a full on devilish grin. "And I got just eight years to do it."

The sounds of the river were deadened by the weight in his voice. The light of the sun was dimmed by the vehemence in his eyes. Everyone and anyone, not just those in the group here and now, who looked at Naruto would have felt these things from looking at him. But the three who were so close to him right now experienced that to a higher degree, knowing as much and as little as they did about him.

Following a few seconds of quiet, Kakashi pressed for more information. "Why do you need to do that?" he enquired with caution. "What happens if you don't?"

Strangely, sound and light returned as the vigour of Naruto's expression waned and he calmed back into a steady recline. He set his eyes on the sky and considered the question, then dropped them back down to Kakashi with a puzzling smile. "You know I'm not entirely sure." He amicably confessed. "A part of me wants to find out. On the other hand the rest of me is pretty sure I most definitely _don't_ want to experience that. Just call it a premonition or something I suppose."

And with that said Naruto switched expression to a blank stare directed straight at Kakashi, awaiting the Jonin to move on. Though Kakashi wanted to ask Naruto further about what exactly he was talking about, he had the strangest feeling that even if he got an answer out of him, it wasn't something he could guarantee was safe for Sakura and Sasuke to hear. As such he tucked away that mental note and resolved to bring it up to his father later.

"_Can't let anything slip by when there's a chance that the Kyuubi is involved."_ He pondered to himself. "Alright, that's the introductions out of the way, so let's move on to the main subject." He spoke aloud, crossing his arms and regarding his students with in a more judicious manner. "Tomorrow, the four of us are going to be doing some special training. Survival training…"

* * *

After going over everything, Kakashi had handed them all papers giving them essentially the same information that he had given them himself, albeit in a more detailed fashion. A simple summary of it was a recap of their assignment, a time and directions to the training field where they would be conducting this "survival training", along with strict reiteration that none of them should eat breakfast that morning, apparently to make sure the message really got across.

Casually Sasuke read over the notice as he made his way home, checking both sides to make sure he wasn't missing anything. Kakashi had stressed the no breakfast rule pretty hard, so of course Sasuke took it seriously. Still, going into training without eating anything sounded like it was going to be a real pain in the ass. _"Guess I could bring a power bar or something."_ He considered, before scrunching the notice up and tossing it in a trash can. _"He's not gonna try and stop us from eating lunch too is he?"_

The time was about three thirty in the afternoon. Civilian children were being walked home by their civilian parents from the civilian schools. Those schools closed earlier than the ninja academy, so this was actually Sasuke's first time seeing normal schoolchildren dressed in their uniforms at least as far as memory permitted. It was a strange sight and a stranger feeling when he considered the forehead protector he now wore. He could no longer be called a civilian. Or could he?

That whole deal about academy graduates simply being candidates for Genin and not the real deal bothered him to quite an extent. Neither of his parents had warned him about that, so he had to wonder if either it was a rule that didn't exist when they were students or if it was something they'd been forbidden from talking about. He'd certainly never heard anything like that when it came to Itachi. However… Itachi had graduated when he was just a little over half Sasuke's current age.

"_Maybe the rules are different when you're dealing with a _real_ genius."_

Sasuke took a deep breath and a long exhale to let out all of his anxiety. It worked out fairly well, for he found himself able to bring upon a smile. Worrying just knotted your stomach up and played with your appetite. And if Sasuke was going to have to skip a meal, he'd make sure he at least ate well tonight to make up for it in advance.

Turning a corner he found himself coming upon a building he didn't often pass these days. The Yamanaka flower shop was doing about as well as it always did, with customers coming for all sorts of reasons. The customers however were neither here nor there to Sasuke. In fact no one in the store called for his attention right now. However there was one person coming down the other end of the street that Sasuke took notice of.

"Hey." He called out, stopping as a familiar girl reached him and did the same. Ino had in her hand a familiar looking slip of paper that drew Sasuke's gaze quite well. "Are you just getting back now? Wasn't your team one of the first to leave?"

The flash of a smile Ino had given to Sasuke disappeared at his query, replaced by a put out click of the tongue and an expression that was far from pleased. "For some reason Asuma-sensei thought it would be a good idea if we got to know each other over a meal." She explained. "And you know who's on my team don't you? _Akimichi Choji!_ I've been stuck with that fat ass and the slob in the middle of a buffet!"

Sasuke offered her a sympathetic smirk that served to calm her down a little, but it was clear that the disappointment of her first team meeting was one that wasn't going to settle so easily. "Hey, at least you weren't scolded by your sensei right off the bat." He light heartedly lamented. "It's kind of embarrassing, but our sensei walked in on me in the middle of an argument with my sweet, precious team mate."

"Sakura?"

"Sakura."

Perhaps apologetically Ino gave a small laugh at that. "It's going to be weird, not seeing everyone anymore." She commented with a bit of a sad look about her. It flickered away however and she was soon back to her usual bright, bouncy self. "Well I'd better hurry along. My dad will want to hear everything and I told Naruto I'd drop by later."

With that she skipped around Sasuke and carried on her brief trek back to her home. Sasuke didn't continue on his own way though. There was something that was bothering him, something he'd tried to leave alone. It wasn't like him to do what he was about to do, but he just couldn't manage to take another step. He turned around to face Ino, and he spoke up.

"I know what you're doing with Naruto."

Ino came to a stop with a quiet footstep. She stood motionless for many seconds, while Sasuke stared at her back. After a little while she looked over her shoulder, faking a confused glance that Sasuke's expression cut through right away. Her eyes shifted all over the place and she became troubled. She turned back to Sasuke and put on a tough face. "What are you talking about?" she asked sharply.

Her defensiveness only served to confirm Sasuke's concerns all the more. He could already see the fallout from those seven words, and could predict even more that would come after he explained himself. Still, there was no leaving this matter to rest. Especially considering the things that he knew.

"I overheard my dad speaking with your dad a while ago." He stated in a low voice so not to attract the attentions of passersby. "I know that your dad asked you to find out stuff about Naruto." There was a flicker in Ino's eyes. Sasuke pressed on with an assertive frown. "And I know you. Or at least, I think I do. You've never been as aggressive as you've been with Naruto. I thought at first you were just checking him out, but that's not true is it?" he softened. "You're getting close to him because of whatever it is your dad wants to know."

Just as expected, Ino's response was hard to predict. Her expression jumped from shocked, to affronted, to embarrassed, to apprehensive and so on and so forth. With each passing second the flush on her face became deeper and Sasuke's certainty that he'd put his foot into somewhere he couldn't step out of became all the greater.

"Are you going to criticise me?!" Ino demanded angrily. It was obvious that she could see the fork in the road just as much as Sasuke could. The difference was she had been pushed towards it without the least bit of warning. It was only natural that she wouldn't like it. "Yeah ok, my dad asked me to do it. And I know that if he asks me to do something like _that_, it has to be important. So I did it ok?!"

The fervour in her self defence was stronger than Sasuke had anticipated. She didn't hold the people around her in as high a regard as he did, so when people gazed their way to see what the commotion was about, the difference in priorities became pronounced. Sasuke wanted to tell her to quiet down, but he had a feeling that wouldn't help at all.

"I'm not here to criticise you." He said, keeping his voice even lower and trying to communicate with his expression that Ino ought to do the same. "Listen, I've known from the start that there's something weird about Naruto. The second he arrived in the village alarm bells started ringing. I thought it was just because he was an outsider, but if both our dads are _still_ worried then there has to be something more. I want to know what that is just as much as you do."

The reassurance didn't exactly calm Ino down, but it did get her to watch her tone. Warily she looked around her and realised it would be best to close the distance between her and Sasuke. So she did, with Sasuke recognising what she was doing and mimicking her in kind. She set her eyes upon Sasuke and searched him in a way that was new to both of them. "What are you saying?" she asked.

Sasuke didn't get to it right away. Even as much as he'd said so far wasn't enough to just throw him in to what he was about to say. What he was about to suggest. All he knew was that he'd feel dirtier for it. "I'm his team mate now. And whatever it is you see your relationship with him to be, he considers you a friend." There was a trace of hurt in Ino's eyes at the implications that went along with that statement, but she didn't say anything. "I'll bet it's only a matter of time before my dad asks me to spy on him too. If he does ask me to do it, then I'll do it. But I don't want to be kept in the dark on this. I'm just as curious about this as you are. So what do you say we keep each other in the loop?"

There was a distressed silence as Ino glanced over her shoulder to the flower shop, expecting to see her father appearing at any second. But when that didn't seem to happen she returned to Sasuke, who patiently awaited her answer. To be honest he half expected her to tell him where he could stick his offer, but it was at least worth the try. Whatever the secret to Uzumaki Naruto was, Sasuke felt he had a right to know. As his team mate Sasuke was going to be forced to rely on him, maybe even owe his life to him at some point. If that was the case, he wanted to know if the person to whom he could one day incur such a debt to was not a dangerous person.

Following some cautious thought, Ino finally nodded her head with solemn doubt. "Alright, but I don't really know all that much about him." She explained. "My dad wants me to find out as much as I can about the person who raised him. But every time I try to get on the subject he just dances around it and doesn't tell me anything. All I know is that he was involved with a rowdy sounding crowd. A gang I think."

"_A gang?"_ Sasuke thought. That sounded like the sort of thing the head of the police department would want to look in on, but it sounded like the really big deal was that mysterious "sensei" he'd heard Naruto make passing reference to on occasion. "It sounds like his sensei comes from Konoha."

"That's as far as I can tell."

Sasuke averted his eyes to consider this piece of information. Then maybe that was the answer to the mystery of how an outsider like Naruto was allowed to enrol as a Shinobi here. He had a ninja from the village vouching for him. But then that begged the question of what that ninja's relationship with the supposed gang Naruto was affiliated with was.

"He said today that he's got eight years to become a master of Fuinjutsu." He imparted. "Do you know anything about that?"

Ino shook her head.

This time it was Sasuke who clicked his tongue. He was really beginning to get the feeling that he was being kept out of a serious loop here. But then maybe there was a good reason for that. It was too soon to start coming up with conspiracy theories anyway. The best thing he could do for now was put the matter aside and see how things went. With that conclusion in mind, he was able to relax again.

"Alright, keep me posted."

* * *

The butterfly knife is an incredible tool for intimidation. The way the blade dances at the flick of a wrist and the twirling of fingers, the faintest glimmer as the light dances off sharp steel in a beautiful and seductive display can entrance and terrify all at the same time. Simply possessing the skill to perform this wicked waltz is enough to convince most of the blood you have spilled, even if you've done harm to no one other than yourself in learning such an art.

For Sakura however the fear one could deliver with the butterfly knife offered no glamour or attraction. She had no purpose for making anyone believe she had a tendency towards psychopathic and sociopathic outbursts of violence and bloodlust. For her there was no charm in the butterfly knife. In her eyes she didn't even see it as a weapon. No. To her, it was simply a valuable method to training one's dexterity.

Her bedroom was a strange affair, the weights and bandages and scrolls and books among the dolls and bears and pink and frill as if a scholar and a solider had taken command of a little girl's room. A rather pathetic analogy really, for the truth wasn't so far from it at all. The thought of throwing away her disused things had never crossed her mind, and so the old and new were cluttered together like a trebuchet's painting.

The butterfly knife in her hand began its mad tango around her fingers as if desperate to be seen with its hypnotising allure. Its efforts were grand and masterful, but its sole audience offered it nothing more than a concentrated glare as it was pushed through all the techniques that rookies and masters alike knew of, and some that were only available to people with understanding and a degree of skill with that thing known as chakra as Sakura was.

The knife wasn't hers. It had belonged to her grandfather, who in his younger days had been something of a danger geek, always ready to prove he was the ballsiest of his drinking buddies. Even though her grandfather had passed and no one else laid claim to the knife, Sakura didn't consider it her possession either. Stating that it was her grandfather's still made it into a family heirloom of sorts. And as anyone knew, a precious family treasure couldn't possibly be used as a weapon.

In a flash the knife was folded back into its closed state, with Sakura continuing to glare at it. A thought had crossed her mind right now. She was practiced enough that she could pull off most tricks with the knife with relative ease. As such there was little to be gained from continuing to practice with it just as it was. She needed to make it more… _challenging_.

Maybe if she blindfolded-

"Sakura! Dinner's nearly ready!"

Or perhaps later, as the well timed grumbling of her stomach suggested. Sakura quickly slipped the knife into her bedside drawer and left her room, headed down the stairs and into the hallway. She could already smell the fragrant aroma that had her stomach play a second chorus and she knew she would be foregoing some table manners on this evening. Regrettably however "nearly" was never nearly soon enough. She had some time before she could eat. This meant she had time to spend.

The Haruno home was a small place with narrow hallways and few rooms. Visitors to the house always carefully described the place as "cosy", but Sakura saw through their pretentious niceties. She lived in a townhouse built for no more than two people, three at a stretch. Yet despite its small size, Sakura didn't mind the compactness of it all. It helped make the place seem more familiar to her. Familiarity was something she held personally in a high regard.

While dinner went through the long process of being "nearly ready", Sakura paid a visit to the living room. There was little in there that was of value. Little in the whole house that was of value actually. But there was something within that was worth more than anything in the world to Sakura. In her busy life full of training, studying and chores, it was the one thing she always made time for.

It was a small rosewood cabinet sitting in an indent along the wall. It was well polished and cared for greatly, as if it was a treasure in a lord's manor. Sakura knelt before this cabinet, and with tentative fingers she opened the doors. The sight of the contents took away all the stresses of the day, as at this moment, little else mattered anymore.

The cabinet was a shrine to two people no longer of this world. In the centre of the display, surrounded by little trinkets and treasures of theirs was a photo in a frame. The two of them were smiling at Sakura with all the joy that came on the day of their wedding. Once again Sakura had to smile at the joy the two of them displayed. That handsome man next to that beautiful woman of whom Sakura had inherited all her features. Their names were Haruno Ringo and Haruno Sayuri. They were Sakura's mother and father.

"I was hoping that the next time I spoke to you it would be as a full-fledged Genin." She found herself saying in a soft spoken voice. Not always when she visited this shrine did she talk to her parents. Only when she felt there was something she really wanted to say to them. At those times, she became so very different from the girl everyone else knew. "But things aren't going exactly as I wanted them to. I'm having a hard time getting along with my team mates and my sensei doesn't seem to like us very much. I'm worried that this training test tomorrow won't go so well."

While she continued to voice her doubts to the image of her deceased parents they continued to smile back at her; a constant symbol that there was happiness to be found in life. It was that symbol that had helped to bring Sakura out of her despair when the wounds of their passing were still fresh. Now she was grown up and ready to follow in her mother's footsteps. Haruno Sayuri had been a Kunoichi just like Sakura hoped to be. Like she _would_ be.

"Uchiha Sasuke is on my team." She continued. "I'm not so nervous about that. He gets good grades even if he's just skating by on his talent. But I can't help wondering if he's really taking his job seriously, and if it will be a problem. I don't want to be held back by the likes of him. And then there's this other guy… Naruto."

Uzumaki Naruto. Over the course of the year the opinion of the class had gone in several directions when it came to him. He'd quickly risen up the academic ranks, passing by student after student with years more formal education than he did. In no time at all his grades caught up behind Sasuke's, and just as he was about to surpass the Uchiha… he stopped. His grades ceased improving and simply maintained that level from then on out. One would think he'd simply met his limits, but it had happened so fast one wondered how he didn't get whiplash in the process. And the one question on everyone's lips, Sakura's included, was why?

Some people chose to think Naruto was just playing along. That he was some sort of über genius who was letting Sasuke and Sakura think they were the best just to mock them. Others thought he had gone through such insane training in his life before Konoha that he was able to push that much farther than the rest, but eventually reached unknown territory. And then there were some who thought he was already a ninja, and had been placed in the class for some secret mission.

But Sakura knew. She'd seen it in his eyes that first time they'd sparred at the start of the year, and many times after that. There was a reason that people were either entranced or disturbed by that damn stare of Naruto's. It had nothing to do with whether or not he was wild or intimidating or whatever people settled to calling him. Sakura couldn't put a name on it, but she at least had an impression.

Those bright eyes that seemed to shine even in the shadows masked a thing that carried an inherent wrongness about it. It felt to her as if someone was lurking in the back of Naruto's head, using those eyes as windows to look out into the world. When Sakura sparred with him, she thought she caught a glimpse of whatever it was that made her think this way. That strange entity that stared back at her from outside the stable frames of reality. Something that wore a grin that just barely resembled a human-

"Sakura! I said dinner is nearly ready!"

Sakura shook her head and the thoughts flew out with them. "I-I'm in here grandma!" she called out as she began to rise to her feet. She dropped down though when she remembered that the cabinet doors were wide open. For some reason she couldn't recall what she was thinking about a second ago. How scrambled was she? "Uh… don't you worry." She gave a feeble smile. "I'll make you both proud, ok?"

And with that she closed the cabinet doors and got to her feet, just as her stomach started to grumble again. She was going to have to watch herself to make sure she didn't get sick before tomorrow's exam. It would be embarrassing not to show because she gave herself a stomach ache.

* * *

A long brush stroke across the rough paper, an arc above the overlapping glyphs. A sharp stab of letters and symbols that on their own meant nothing, yet when paired together promised something truly worth the while. The dried and wet ink came to fill the paper minute by minute until every little piece created a single whole. And yet even when he was finished, Naruto was not happy.

He referred again to the book by his side, from which he found the design that he had duplicated upon the sheet of paper in front of him. This was his fourth attempt at reproducing the sealing array as demonstrated in the book, and for the fourth time he had failed. The truly irritating thing was that it had nothing to do with technicalities or misinterpreted rules and techniques. It simply came down to his penmanship. No matter how he tried, his work more closely resembled the chiselling of words upon a tree made with a dagger, than with a brush and ink.

With a grumble he wiped the sweat from his brow and put the work aside. Perhaps he was jumping too far ahead, if handwriting was what held him back. He closed the book and headed over to the bookcase to put it back, and then glanced over it with a frown. Why hadn't he thought to buy a calligraphy book? He'd known his handwriting was atrocious, and saw for himself how necessary skilled brushwork was in even basic Fuinjutsu. Subconsciously he rubbed his arms where his skin had been inked by his sensei. Sealing with a needle must have been a nightmare. You didn't exactly have an easy option for starting over if you messed up.

He let out a laugh as he realised he'd accidentally started to think about the past. He'd always taken great care not to look back to that time, lest he got caught up in the memories. When that happened he always found that the best solution was to find something to distract oneself to avoid the risk of brooding. Fortunately he lived in the perfect environment for finding such a distraction.

Just as he was about to head towards the back of the bar, he heard a sharp knocking at the door that drew his surprise. In almost an entire year of living here he'd received visitors no more than five times, and three out of those five was Kiba. But he could tell by the knock that it was not his Inuzuka friend who was at the door. Much too light and rapid. So, curious, he crossed the floor and took the door and opened it up to see.

"Ino?" he mumbled with a look of surprise. He glanced over his shoulder to the clock on the wall. "Kinda early aren't you? Thought we said we'd meet at the-"

"Are you going to let me in? It's cold out here!"

For the first time Naruto noticed that the sun wasn't shining as it had been a few hours ago, and was in fact obscured by grey clouds. Clouds that were currently releasing their waters upon the village in a miserable drizzle that had everyone scurrying on their way without a second glance to the young girl and boy standing in the doorway of what was commonly known to be a disused bar.

Stepping aside to let the cold and wet girl into his home, Naruto took a quick check to make sure there really was no one giving them a second glance. Ino on the other hand took ten steps in and stopped in her tracks, realising that this was her first time visiting Naruto in his home. It didn't take her long to find out that what she'd stepped inside was no run of the mill home however.

What looked like a bar on the outside was more like a studio apartment on the inside. She'd passed this place on several occasions when it was just a rundown bar, and even from outside she'd seen the changes take place. Those narrow slits of windows had been remodelled to man sized panes of glass that would let everyone see in if they weren't tinted on the outside. There were also a row of skylights across the ceiling, as if Naruto really wanted to see as much of the sky and outside world as he could manage.

The interior retained much of the bar's original design, but with the homely touches such as the actual bar being adjusted into a kitchenette. It seemed the left side of the place made up the sleeping and dressing area, while the right was recreation and entertainment, as shown by the bookcase and old looking pool table. The bar was lit up with lamps and neon lights that all seemed to work together in to do strange things with the lighting and the shadows. After taking stock of the place, Ino could do little more than face Naruto and pose a simple question.

"How much money do you _have_?!"

Naruto laughed. "After _this_?"

Ino continued to look around Naruto's peculiar home while he left her on her own for a bit. When he returned it was with a towel in hand, which Ino gratefully accepted. "When you said you were living in a bar, I didn't think you were living it up like this!" she moaned with just a hint of reproach while she dried her hair. "If I'd known I would have visited sooner!"

Naruto opened up the fridge beneath the bar and pulled out two glass bottles of coffee milk. He slid one over to Ino, who had sat herself upon the stool opposite, and opened up the remaining bottle. "I thought about bringing it up, but I wasn't sure how the etiquette worked out." He mused after taking a thoughtful sip, then gestured towards one side of his home. "I mean, technically you're also in my bedroom."

Following the gesture Ino turned in her seat to look at the place from a new perspective, in both meanings of the word. She wouldn't have expected the Naruto she met a year ago to live as neatly as he did, but she could certainly see that boyish side even after he adopted some of his more unusual habits. "My mom used to say you can tell a lot about a person from the way they keep their bedroom." She remarked, whirling back to face Naruto with a saucy smile. "Maybe if I look through your drawers I'll be able to get inside that head of yours."

If her suggestion was supposed to make Naruto nervous, it failed miserably. It instead caused him to lean over the bar to get nearer to Ino, showing her a calm and innocent expression. "I guess it's only fair." He stated.

Ino gave a single note of a giggle to indicate she wasn't seriously about to go rooting through his drawers. She then took a nice long draught from the coffee milk, finding it surprisingly tasty. That was when what Naruto said hit her and she nearly choked. "Ack- WHAT DOES _THAT_ MEAN?!" she shrilly demanded, a red flush painted over her face.

Naruto responded by sitting his chin on his palm and offering a childish grin. "Gotcha!"

The joke resulted in putting a large and rather impressive pout on Ino's face, which coupled with her blush was absolutely adorable in Naruto's opinion. Though he could have teased her further, he decided to leave it at that for now. Ino could be a delicate flower from time to time, if you could believe it. Oh, a flower with thorns most certainly, but even those could only take so much.

And so the two of them quietly continued with their drinks, neither in any real hurry to pursue the topic they had come together to discuss. Naruto had reasons of only possessing casual interest, but Ino was a different matter entirely. She sipped her coffee milk slowly, taking her time with it. Every time she felt Naruto start to pay attention to her she took a drink so to mask her somewhat fretful demeanour. Eventually the time came however when Naruto took notice of the stress in her silence and fixed his gaze upon her. That gaze that just wouldn't let go.

Putting the mostly empty bottle down, Ino no longer attempted to hide her feelings and instead let them show in full. Naruto pensively watched her, anticipating bad news, but not knowing what to expect. When she opened her mouth, she had his full and undivided attention.

"Sasuke approached me today." She tentatively whispered. "He asked me to help spy on you."

Her confession made Naruto's brow shoot up high into his fringe. He backed off and leant against the freezer unit behind, ignoring the chill and looking off into the shadows of his adapted apartment. Ino raised her eyes to his, but he didn't meet them nor give any signs as to what he was thinking about. Indeed, he even continued to sip his coffee milk from time to time, further mystifying the nature of his thought process.

For a long time neither of them said anything as Ino concernedly waited to hear what he had to say on the matter. She knew how she'd feel if the roles were reversed, but Naruto's deeper feelings were always impossible to discern. "Why are you telling me this?" he asked without making eye contact. "It's not like you were gonna find out anything working alone. Sasuke could've been the right move to finding out what you wanted."

To this Ino sulked crossly. "You know why!"

Naruto darted his eyes at Ino for a second and flashed a grin towards her. He then drained the rest of his drink and dropped the empty bottle in the trash. Following that he rolled up his failed attempt at Fuinjutsu and sent it to join the bottle. "I'm surprised it's taken Sasuke this long to make a move." He noted peacefully. "I guess you said you'd cooperate?"

When he didn't get a verbal reply he faced Ino and saw how troubled she was. With a frown he stepped around the bar and joined her at the stools, where he put a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Hey, you know you're not doing anything wrong right?" he asked with a smirk that was a poor attempt at reassurance. "Your dad's looking for information I don't have." There was a note of doubt in Ino's eyes that Naruto barely caught. "Ino, look at me." He turned the stool so they were face to face. "You know if I really did know something, I wouldn't just _not_ tell you. I'd make up some big lie and watch what happened. Because that would be entertaining."

The fact that he said such a devious thing with such a straight face couldn't fail to bring Ino back up from her concerns. While he continued to put on as honest a face as he had, Ino had almost no choice but to respond in a deadpan manner. "You don't inspire the most confidence when you say things like that." She gave out a sigh. "But I know it's true. You like making people embarrass themselves too much."

"You make me sound like a bad guy!"

"What makes you think you're not?"

The rain hardened considerably as it pounded upon the skylight, enough so that the bar was filled with the constant sound of drumming. There was no one passing by the windows any more. Everyone had the good sense to retreat to dryer places for the time being. The bar was a long way away from the Yamanaka compound. It seemed that Ino was faced with a decision. Either brave the weather to return home, or ask a favour that would cause more than a few complications.

Abruptly Naruto slid off the stool and stretched his tired muscles away. He made a beeline for the corridor that would take him towards the bathroom while Ino watched after him. "I got a spare futon in here somewhere." He exposed casually. "If you don't mind sleeping in a boy's bed you can take that."

And so he disappeared into the darkness of the corridor to collect that spare futon, leaving Ino to wait for his return. In his absence she found her finger lightly circling the rim of the bottle in her hand, a quirky smile coming upon her as she continued to stare at the spot she last saw Naruto. No one else she knew of was able to present himself like Naruto did. How he managed to shift from sharp witted and downright rude to a generous gentleman without getting motion sickness was a marvel in itself. But for all the supposed and true mystery that surrounded him, there was one thing of which Ino was sure. He wasn't as bad as some people thought him to be.

* * *

A pair of jays fluttered through the sky the next morning, flying off into the blue sky. The clouds had let all their waters away the previous night and left barely a streak of white in the morning expanse. The dawn sun cast a warmth that bid away the cold of the last few hours, promising weather to make up for the less than favourable bounty the villagers of Konoha had received.

Even so, the ideal of warmth and sunshine that would come ahead did not make up for the state of the earth beneath the three would-be-Genin's feet. Every step they'd taken in order to reach the agreed location had come with its own squelch and schlick, as if the ground itself was trying to cling to them in a disgusting way. Naruto looked at his sandals and saw the flaw in spending as much money on something that would certainly not be easy to keep in good condition. That said, he was loathe to fret over such small issues. He had other things to be frustrated with.

The proverbial clock had ticked from five o'clock to six, and then on to seven, without any sign of the man who had called them here in the first place. The sodden earth had dried to a mild softness and still only three out of four had arrived at the training field. Even the most patient of people had every right to be agitated for their own reasons. Likewise, each of the three had their own ways of coping with the wait.

Sasuke for one had taken to checking and rechecking his possessions, making sure he knew exactly where everything was so to ensure he could reach it when needed without having to check at that time. Sakura on the other hand went through a series of warm-ups in preparation for what they had been assured would be difficult training. That left Naruto to stare off to the distance where Kakashi was sure to come.

He had managed to keep his cool for the first hour. Through the second he started to crack and show just slightly lesser degrees of irritation than Sasuke and Sakura. But when the third came he had long since surpassed their feelings, to the point where he dared not take his eyes off the path he was _certain_ Kakashi would arrive from. If he had to wait any longer, he was sure he would start to go mad.

A sharp whistle came from Sasuke and drew his team mates' attention. He nodded off to the woods and they all turned to face the same direction. There, not where Naruto had thought he would arrive, came Kakashi walking at a leisurely pace. He gave them a wave as he made his approach, appearing to smile though it was hard to tell. For a moment Naruto considered running up and decking the Jonin, but his better senses restrained him. It didn't do much to brighten his mood though.

"Good morning!" Kakashi cheerily greeted them when he was close enough. He didn't stop there however. Instead he walked on past them, waving for them to follow. "We're not quite there yet, so let's go over the rules of this training while we walk."

Begrudgingly the three ninja in training picked up their bags and began to follow Kakashi, none of them feeling particularly enthusiastic for what was in store for them.

* * *

Kakashi stood in an empty expanse of grassland, near a tree stump with a ticking timer sitting atop it. He calmly looked around his environment for any signs that there was someone within his vicinity, but that was not the case. His three would be students had done a good job of making themselves scarce. He could barely detect them from where he stood. It was a good start to the test, but that was all it was. Simply hiding wouldn't be enough for them to pass.

"Well, I guess I'll go for a walk." He thought very loudly, in case one of them didn't hear.

Taking a leisurely stroll through the woods, he considered his game plan while keeping his eyes and ears open for anything deserving of his attention. In the past it had been a favourite strategy of his to read a book in order to agitate the less collected students, but the three he was dealing with today were a cut above the ones he had dealt with in the past. He doubted they would fall for such an obvious opening.

There was the option of picking them off one by one in a way that would ensure the others were aware of what he was doing. Taking down the top student, Sakura, could very well demoralise Sasuke, if not Naruto too. But that wasn't really Kakashi's style. And besides, he'd hardly be giving them much of a fighting chance if he did that now, would he?

He could play off the rivalry between the three to see how far apart he could push them. It didn't take the years of experience he had to see that there wasn't a single member of this team up that wanted to look weaker than either of the other two. After some consideration though he dismissed that plan. He wasn't the only person who had seen through Naruto's test scores. They boy had been pushing Sasuke and Sakura and in doing so was the reason for the three way rivalry. At least that was his theory.

Even while he continued to mull over the possibilities, his senses alerted him to a hail of danger coming his way. Expertly he jumped into the air and avoided the barrage of kunai that would have left more than a mark on his skin. _"Good, they're taking this seriously."_ He thought, figuring out and looking at the most likely origin of the kunai in an instant. _"Oh?"_

The note of surprise came from the sudden rush of one of his would-be students bursting from the foliage. It was, as expected, Naruto who made the first assault, flying through the air with and adapted version of his boxer's stance. It was a fair strategy. Manoeuvrability in the air was next to impossible under normal circumstances, so if you could get your opponent to jump, you would have quite the advantage. That was, assuming your opponent wasn't a Jonin.

Kakashi effortlessly dodged Naruto's oncoming attack by using the boy's own body to push himself aside. That was an advantage of being taller than your opponent. You had greater reach to make moves on them than they did you. As such, Kakashi was outside Naruto's range in one second flat, and turned to watch the boy fall through the air.

… Or land on a tree. That was possible too.

Naruto flipped into a somersault and bounced off the bark in order to make a second assault as Kakashi dropped through the air. _"A contingency plan, or split second responsiveness?"_ Kakashi wondered as Naruto entered his range again. However instead of dodging the attack, Kakashi did something very different. Something only the sharpest of eyes could make out.

By the time the two of them hit the ground, Kakashi had Naruto pinned down. One hand twisted Naruto's arm around the back of his head and gave the boy no other option but to remain pressed against the dirt. His struggles resulted in pain. Naruto was intelligent enough to know not to maintain his efforts then, and relaxed his muscles as best he could.

Sensing the other two in the area, Kakashi lifted his head and spoke clearly. "The problem with specialist forms of Taijutsu is that though some aspects are made stronger, your weaknesses become that much more glaring." He stated, purposefully looking at both Sakura and Sasuke's hiding places to let them know he was fully aware of where they were. "For example, boxers put a great deal of effort into protecting their front guard, but this leaves them very vulnerable to attacks from the rear."

Kakashi's speech irritated Naruto, but rather than show his anger, he showed a smirk instead. With a painful twist of the wrist the button of his sleeve popped off, flicking Kakashi on the cheek and earning his attention just in time to see two very noteworthy things. First was the tip of what looked like a ninja tag hidden within Naruto's sleeve. The second was the seal he formed with the corresponding hand. That was when Kakashi started to feel concerned.

Smoke erupted out of Naruto's sleeve and plumed into Kakashi's face, enveloping him in a dense cloud. Kakashi started to question the purpose of this effort, but before he could even finish the thought his senses flared as he suddenly felt his life to be in danger. He released Naruto and sharply leapt back, narrowly dodging a wave of Shuriken from both sides. But before he could break free of the cloud of smoke, something else happened. Something inexplicable.

He felt his leg grabbed by something hard and flexible, like a rope or something like that. Without being able to figure out what it was, he felt himself getting pulled with impressive strength back towards the centre of the cloud. One other peculiar thing he noted was a strange sound, like the chinking of metal. That was the most analysis he could afford before he had to react.

A simple escape jutsu was enough to break himself free of the bonds that pulled him towards Naruto. The next second he was able to leap out from the cloud and make safe distance from himself and the boy. He landed where Naruto's kunai had struck the ground, as planned, and used them to ward off the other two with well placed throws. Sasuke and Sakura fell out of their hiding places and into the open, just as the haze shrouding Naruto dissipated.

"That was dangerous." Kakashi remarked, looking at Sasuke and Sakura. "What if you'd hit Naruto?"

By the cocked brow Naruto wore as he glanced at his team mates it was clear that he hadn't been expecting the flank attack, and by the way neither of the other two could bring themselves to meet his eyes it became even more obvious. So they hadn't been working together. They were just taking advantage of an opportunity.

"_Still… these three have been sparring with each other for a year now. It's only natural that they'd know each other's movements and be able to plan around them."_ Kakashi considered, rolling his shoulder and priming himself a bit more. _"However, that's not teamwork. And no matter what dad wants, I won't pass these three if they don't meet my criteria."_

The Jonin and the three aspiring ninja stood silent and tense, each waiting for someone to make a move. The would be Genin had now seen a little of what Kakashi was capable of, and knew that no half baked schemes would get them to the bells hanging from his belt. Likewise Kakashi was feeling somewhat on edge, particularly in regards to Naruto. Whatever had grabbed his leg was inhuman. Whether that meant it was living or not was one thing, but there was nothing on the boy's person that indicated him possessing such a tool. That could only mean a jutsu of some kind. And that was worth looking into.

After about twenty seconds of nothing happening it was Kakashi who kicked things off by disappearing into the wilderness. Likewise Sakura and Sasuke took their leave, with Naruto backing off in kind. They all knew now what kind of task was laid out in front of them. And even the most experienced of the four felt himself wanting to be a little more serious about the next few hours.


	6. Chapter 6

I completely lost track of time with this one. Before I knew it nearly two weeks had passed. Well, I'm most talented when it comes to action scenes, so hopefully the content here will make up for it.

* * *

**They can't afford to fail me**

An hour had passed since the exam begun, and Kakashi had to say he was rather impressed with the efforts the three aspiring ninja were putting forward. They made decent deductions of where he was going and laid traps out for him at well chosen spots. Of course he saw through them all and was able to evade them without exerting the least bit of effort. Occasionally he would double back to find that the tools used for said traps, mainly kunai, shuriken and trip wire, were all collected back up before he returned. So they were efficient too.

Another thing to note of them was their learning ability. They never attempted the same trap twice and always tried to find some weak spot they could utilise and attack Kakashi with. The first had naturally been from his left side, where he was somewhat visually impaired for obvious reasons. When that failed, they upped their games considerably to the point where Kakashi felt the need to be on his guard.

While he continued to leisurely stroll through the woods, he came to notice something that earned his intrigue. There were some displaced leaves on the ground near a tree. They looked fresh and bunched together, even though there had been a decently strong wind earlier. That told Kakashi that something or someone had disturbed one of the branches higher up for some reason. With that deduction he cast his eyes upward and came to a stop when he spotted a bent branch, and what looked very much like a staple shaped fastener used to hold trip wire in place.

Kakashi started to follow the likely trail of the wire, but suddenly he heard a rustling from above and looked straight up, discovering to his surprise a plummeting shadow. Reacting right away he dodged forward with a roll and spin that allowed him to both escape the threatened collision and see just who had been trying to get the drop on him. But instead of seeing one of the students, he saw a ninja cloth weighed down by one of their bags.

A sharp turn at the call of his instincts and a back step had him face to face with Sakura, who had dived for the bells at his belt while he was investigating her bag. Angered dismay was clear as day on her face at being discovered so swiftly, but she was unwilling to let her opening go to waste for the sake of caution. She dashed forward, counting on Kakashi expecting her to recoup and throwing a perfectly timed kunai as he made another step back in order to throw off his balance. However instead of trying to avoid the kunai, he allowed it to hit him. At which point he exploded in a cloud of smoke, leaving behind a log with a kunai firmly embedded in it.

"A commendable effort, though perhaps a little too greedy."

Sakura whirled around and spotted Kakashi crouching on a bough high above the ground, looking down at her with a pleased smile. "It's a common tactic to lay a false trap in order to disguise the real one, but it's not often that the follow up trap is also a fake out." He remarked while Sakura pulled her kunai out of the log. Kakashi paused to study that particular kunai when a notion came to him. "It's been you alone that's been setting all these traps, hasn't it?"

The lack of surprise or confusion on Sakura's face told plenty of what Kakashi was already starting to piece together. The tools from the previous traps had all looked rather worn, though well maintained. But there were some with striking details that he couldn't help becoming aware of. That kunai was familiar to him. He'd seen it twice before in previous traps. With that and the fact that no one, not even the hasty Naruto, had tried to take advantage of the openings in the past five traps he'd encountered, led him to believe that there was only one perpetrator of his recent inconveniences.

"_So what are the other two up to?"_ Kakashi mused with a sweeping look of his surroundings. He didn't doubt that they were both nearby, watching and learning off of Sakura's hard efforts. If they were simply being patient, he could commend them. But it was another matter if Sakura's failures were making them hesitant. Those who relied solely on opportunity were doomed from the start. For that reason he greatly approved of Sakura and her proactive methodology.

His vision quickly readjusted to Sakura when she demonstrated for him just how she had been able to lay that trip wire so high up. Through an impressive feat of acrobatics she kicked off tree to tree and successfully ascended to Kakashi's level in seconds, taking position on a bough about thirty feet from the Jonin. She stood there then, kunai in hand, watching Kakashi like a lioness would watch a tiger.

"Going for the straightforward approach?" Kakashi asked, without a lick of concern.

By the look of things Sakura was questioning such an idea, taking her time to figure out what she wanted to do. Such dithering didn't correspond with what he'd seen of her so far though, so it came upon him that she was perhaps doing something else entirely. Calculating. That made sense. She was calculating something.

All it took was a flicker of the eyes for Kakashi to know exactly what she was planning. But it didn't help him much, for she acted on that plan almost instantaneously. With a flick of the wrist she threw the kunai Kakashi's way and rightfully so, Kakashi leant aside to dodge it. But he already knew that Sakura didn't expect to hit him, and wouldn't have made such a throw without purpose. He was already putting into action a quick exit strategy when the kunai hit the trip wire in the trees, severing it and triggering the trap.

By reflex Kakashi looked to see what he missed, which confusingly was nothing at all. The trip wire bounded back and jostled more leaves from the tree, but aside from that there was no bang or boom or anything one would expect from a triggered trap. It didn't take him any longer than a microsecond to figure out that the wire served its prior purpose again as a dupe and he knew to put up his guard. Just in time, for as soon as he turned around he caught movement from the corner of his eye. Sakura had leapt after him and was attacking from his blind spot. He turned at the precise moment to block her hand from grabbing at the bells. But at his touch Sakura disappeared into thin air, leaving nothing behind.

"_Using a Bunshin in mid air to hide its lack of impression on its environment."_ Kakashi found himself smiling again, but now with a slightly warm feeling inside. _"Well done."_

He almost felt bad about reaching to his waist and grabbing the wrist of the very skilled girl just as she managed to touch one of the bells. With a twist he used the natural momentum of their descent to throw Sakura over himself just as they reached the ground, hurling her across the dirt with just enough force to make sure she didn't receive debilitating injury. Unfortunately she had the bad luck of hitting the root of a tree with her knee, which had her give off a cry of pain.

Despite the rather nasty impact Sakura managed to get to her feet with minimal difficulty. She had one hand on a bleeding knee, and by the look on her winded face it was clear she was of the same opinion as Kakashi. Continuing now wouldn't do anything but exhaust and possibly injure her more. Choosing to give up the chase for now she darted back off towards her backpack, grabbing it and vanishing into the wilderness.

Kakashi allowed her to go without difficulty, watching her take her leave. Her performance went beyond what he'd read about her on her report card. If Kakashi was anything less than a Jonin she could very well have taken one of the bells. He surprised himself a little by starting to hope that the three students would pass the test.

"_Now…"_ he wondered, turning around to take stock again. _"Who's next?"_

* * *

"It's always nice to take your work out into the sun, isn't it, Hokage-sama?"

Sakumo was in the middle of leafing through a thick and rather messy file when he noticed that company had approached him while he worked on the roof. The cool breeze and the morning sun really made the perfect day for conducting one's duties outside. A patio chair and accompanying table were all the necessities needed to make the day that little bit more comfortable. The parasol and jug filled with iced tea certainly wasn't bad either.

As present company came upon him Sakumo set his work aside in order to greet two very welcome faces. "Work and pleasure needn't always be in conflict with one another. That was what you said yourself, eh, Sarutobi-dono?" he warmly gestured for his predecessor to take a seat at one of the adjacent patio chairs, having prepared for random company as such. "How nice of you to drop by too, Danzo-dono."

"There's no need to refer to me in such a way, Hokage-sama." Responded Shimura Danzo as he lowered himself into the chair to Sakumo's left. "The Hokage answers to no one other than the Daimyo himself. Treating anyone other than the Daimyo or your fellow Kage with such respect might suggest a flaw in your character to others."

"As cordial as ever!" Sarutobi Hiruzen chuckled, taking the spot to Sakumo's right.

"Be that as it may, I think it would be foolish to turn down the counsel of those with much more experience than I." Sakumo coolly smiled. "I hope to receive as much wisdom from the both of you as you can bear to impart." He offered Danzo a wink that was met with stone. "In that sense, I made a concession for my own pride by referring to you as "master". Would you prefer the more proper term, Danzo-sensei?"

To this Danzo merely grunted and cast his attention aside, muttering something along the lines of "do what you want". The Godaime and former Sandaime shared a look that was sufficient in the stead of the laughter they might have given otherwise. Neither were overly concerned with Danzo's strict approach to trivial things. In fact, the past decade had shown quite the bit of rekindling in the relationship between the two old friends; Sarutobi Hiruzen and Shimura Danzo. Granted that had to do with their casual jobs as Sakumo's advisors, but even then it was no strange sight to see the two in each other's company.

After taking the time to pour out some iced tea for his two advisors, Sakumo took his file in hand and continued to read through it. "So the Genin exams are underway right at this very moment." Sarutobi noted following a sip of his tea. "What are your estimations for the outcome?"

"It's obvious isn't it?" Danzo interjected, leaving his tea aside. "Excepting the Inuzuka, Aburame and Uchiha every one of our major clans has their heir within the number of potential graduates. Each of those heirs has been gathered into two teams. Should any of those teams fail it would reflect poorly on the clans each heir represents. Therefore those two teams will irrevocably pass. Them, and the Jinchuuriki's team of course."

A silence befell the three strongest figures in the village as neither of the other two could honestly reject this motion, at least not when only in the company of one another. Sarutobi had been the Hokage for too long to maintain any will to put on faces when it came to the politics of the village, and Sakumo didn't see any sense in making excuses either. The outcome had pretty much been decided from the moment thirteen years ago when the heads of nearly every clan in the village had decided to impregnate their wives apparently in close succession to one another.

With no oppositions made to his views, Danzo felt entitled to moving the topic onto something of more interest to him. He reached inside his robes and procured an envelope that caught the eyes of both past and present Hokage as he displayed it for them. "This is some intelligence I have gathered on the Jinchuuriki." He stated, setting the envelope down in front of Sakumo. "It may be nothing, but every piece of the puzzle helps to form the whole."

Sakumo stared at the envelope, bearing a couple of concerns as to how Danzo managed to gather intelligence that he, the Hokage, had not. Still, the item itself and the fact that Danzo presented it to him at all spoke volumes. With a nod of appreciation he took the envelope in hand and opened it up, finding inside a stack of… photographs?

Danzo sat patiently while Sakumo looked over the photos one by one, a frown upon his brow deepening with each image that crossed his eyes. The old wolf knew the order of photos off by heart and could tell exactly what Sakumo was seeing even if he couldn't see the photos himself. Sarutobi's eyes were locked upon him, quietly theorising the same question of how and why Danzo went to such lengths.

"The boy has been gathering information on his fellow students throughout the course of the year." Danzo announced when Sakumo was halfway through the photos of Naruto's journal. "Though it's no surprise he looked into the clan heirs, it seems he's also been investigating the students who are currently teamed with those heirs. He has a connection to the Inuzuka, and has a minor affiliation with the Uchiha. However I see no reason for his interest in the Aburame. Or in the girl_._"

He finished his thoughts perfectly in time as Sakumo reached the photo of the page in the journal that was filled with details on Haruno Sakura. This was the photo he stayed on for the longest, simply because it stood out from the rest for a couple of reasons. First were the obvious points. Sakura's lack of heritage to any ninja clan being one. The other was found in comparison with the previous photos. Naruto had found plenty to say about each of the selected classmates, but when it came to Haruno Sakura, there was very little input. As if perhaps he had difficulty in profiling her to the same degree as the others.

"I think we'd all be surprise if it turned out that Uzumaki Naruto somehow knew about which teams would graduate before any formal announcements were made!" Sarutobi commented with a wry smile, before going on to give his take. "We can eliminate half the students in that list for simply being heirs to their clan, one on account of a friendship with Naruto and two for being the only students in the class of a higher grade than him; meaning his competition. Also there is something of a relationship between Naruto and Aburame Shino, though you'd be far stretched to call them friends."

The reason for Sarutobi knowing as much as he did about Naruto's class life was because of the other duty he took upon himself in his otherwise overwhelming amount of free time. He was occasionally brought into classes for important lessons on various subjects. As such he often had his ear to the ground when it came to promising students. It was only natural then that Naruto's class got so much of his attention.

"That's your theory then?" Danzo enquired with dry scepticism. "Then what's your opinion on his method of noting the "value" of each student?"

Sarutobi came to share the frown that Sakumo wore and requested one of the photographs. He was handed the one in regard to Nara Shikamaru. Even through the photo he was fully able to read what had been written in that journal of Naruto's. Especially the part which Danzo referred to with caution and care.

_Extent of value: He's a slacker, but he's a sharp bastard. I bet if he gets motivated he'd rip any problem apart and pick out the answer from the mess. Better make sure I don't give him any reason to stick his nose in. But if I can get him on my side, he could be pretty handy to have around._

"It's like that for all of them." Sakumo murmured as he flicked through the stack again.

Sarutobi returned the photo to Sakumo and set his gaze elsewhere, suddenly feeling quite tired. There was no need to share his thoughts with the Godaime or Danzo, for he was sure they were all thinking along the same lines. No matter how you chose to look at it, Naruto's behaviour as demonstrated in the photos could not be regarded as normal. Jinchuuriki or not, abnormalities in character of prospective ninja were a serious matter indeed.

Once satisfied that he had seen all the photographs had to offer, Sakumo neatly returned them to the envelope and placed it down next to the essentially forgotten file. He sat forward and stared off into the distance while he thought about what the photos meant and what he ought to do with such information. But his eyes were drawn to the side along with a slight feeling of dread as Danzo reached inside his robes again.

"These are from another book found in his possession."

A knotted feeling emerged inside of Sakumo as he took a second envelope from Danzo's hand. There was no hesitance in opening it up, even though he felt sure that he was not about to receive good news. As before, what he found inside was a stack of photos.

"Your spies have certainly been busy." Sarutobi commented, though he was simply cranky at the elimination of what was supposed to be a peaceful visit. His complaint was ignored as Sakumo started to look through the new bundle.

The pictures were of pages from a different book to the one he had seen before. The pages were from that leather-bound book of Naruto's, filled with the secrets of the lost Uzumaki clan. Sakumo himself didn't recognise it as such until he saw the Uzumaki crest appear within the book. It was around about that time that his troubled expression had unintentionally encouraged Sarutobi to take a peak over.

The former Sandaime gasped in shock at what he saw. He almost forgot himself and grabbed the photos from Sakumo's hands, but he managed to avoid it. Instead he rose to his feet and stood at the Godaime's back, looking over the photos as thoroughly as his successor did. Sakumo looked at the book uneasily. Sarutobi looked at it as if it were a viper baring its fangs.

"What is this?" Sakumo finally asked. "I don't recognise this code."

"It's the Uzumaki Dossier!" Sarutobi breathed, still resisting the urge to take the photos and conduct an even closer inspection. "It's an amalgamation of the techniques and discoveries made by the Uzumaki clan!"

"That's no code you're reading." Danzo further explained, having already perused the photos for all the information they contained. "It would be more accurate to call it the dead language of the Uzumaki. Back when Uzushiogakure was still thriving, the children of the Uzumaki who were to be raised as ninja were taught that language before any other. It has no cipher and is unconnected to any other language in form or phrase. Without a member of the Uzumaki clan who knows the language well, the dossier is essentially worthless."

Eventually Sakumo felt he had seen enough and handed the bundle to Sarutobi, who immediately dropped back into his chair in order to look through them again. While he was busy studying Sakumo turned to Danzo, matching the retired ninja's seriousness almost perfectly. "I'm not familiar with Uzushiogakure's methodologies." He admitted openly. "The ninja I sent Naruto with was half Uzumaki, so I suppose he handed the dossier down to Naruto and taught him the language. But why would that be a problem? From what I can see that book is Naruto's heritage."

"The Uzumaki clan weren't like any other clan around Hokage-sama." Danzo explained, putting great emphasis on his words and never taking his eye off of Sakumo's. "They were gifted with longevity and a talent for Fuinjutsu that is borderline kekkei genkai in nature. They were also gifted with great imaginations and produced an unbelievable volume of jutsu. More than what could be contained in one simple book."

Danzo allowed his answer to sink in for a moment; time Sakumo spent well. the Godaime looked off to the village and deeply contemplated what his advisor's words must have meant, and thus could reach only one conclusion that made sense. "So the book is filled with advanced techniques?"

"Let me put it to you this way…" interjected Sarutobi, who was taking another round of looking through the photos. "Based on what I can recognise here, I don't believe there's a single technique within that book that could be classed anything lesser than Forbidden Jutsu by our standards." He held out one photo in particular for Sakumo to see. "I've seen this one in effect before. It's a sealing jutsu that connects the user's chakra network to another's. If any Genin in our village attempted to perform such a jutsu, I guarantee you they would find themselves missing their entire chakra pathway system and perhaps other internal organs."

Sakumo attempted not to imagine what such a thing would look like, but failed miserably. In his career as a ninja, by some chance, he'd had next to no encounters with members of the Uzumaki clan. He had never once fought alongside them and had no first hand experience of what they were capable of. Perhaps that was why he felt so horribly out of touch from what he was learning here and now.

"If we cannot afford to trust the Jinchuuriki, I believe it would be best to remove the dossier from his possession." Danzo proposed. "A Jinchuuriki we can control, but a Jinchuuriki with mastery of such techniques could prove problematic."

"But the Uzumaki Dossier is Naruto's birthright." Sarutobi countered, finally putting the photos down. "And we don't know how many of these techniques he has already learned. Taking away what is rightfully his could create the very crisis we wish to avoid."

In the end, as it had been for around twelve years now, the decision was left in Sakumo's hands. The Godaime Hokage took his time to think about what the best course of action would be, but both his advisors made very good points. If Naruto had already decided to play by his own rules, then leaving the book in his possession could as well be helping him in whatever it was he wished to do. But if he had no such plans and they were merely overreacting, then removing the book from him could destroy any hopes they had of gaining his loyalty.

At times like this Sakumo found the best thing to do was stop and take a deep breath. The moment of thoughtlessness and calm allowed him to slow his thinking process and take things from a sharper perspective.

"A long time ago I failed a mission in order to save the lives of the men and women who were under my command." He stared off into the distant past and recalled troubled times. "I was hated by those I saved and the village alike. In my depression I considered taking my own life. No, I tried to."

Sarutobi and Danzo were respectfully silent.

"But as they say, at your final moments your life flashes before your eyes. And in those moments I saw things in a whole new light. I understood where I had erred, why I was disgraced." He took a breath and sat back. "With the strength I acquired I believed it was my duty to protect every last person. But in doing so I patronised the ninja under my command. They were willing to die for the sake of the village they loved. I wasn't willing to let them. In abandoning that mission I hurt the village and showed those ninja the greatest disrespect. I treated them like children."

The sunny day was becoming a stark contrast to the gloom settling around the rooftop of the academy. Strangely, the sun seemed eager to try and brighten the mood, for it shone fiercer than it had just ten minutes ago. Yet the parasol acted as an island of shade that negated the sun's efforts, leaving the three aged ninja to stew in their thoughts.

"It was thanks to that revelation that I was able to return from the precipice and earn back the trust of my village and my comrades." By this point it was unclear if he was still talking about the issue at hand, or if he was just getting some things off his chest. Either way, neither of his advisors made any attempt to stop him. "I came to understand and respect the convictions of my fellow ninja. I realised that at times great sacrifices needed to be made. But more than that I realised that for every sacrifice needed there were many ninja willing to pay the ultimate price. If they had resolved themselves to die for Konoha, it was my responsibility to make sure their deaths were not in vain."

"And it is thanks to that discovery that you were able to become the Hokage you are now." Sarutobi finished with a smile of encouragement.

"What of the Jinchuuriki then?" Danzo asked.

"For now I'll let him be." Sakumo responded, with a steely quality to his voice. "If we show him that this village is the best place for him, then I believe he will settle in eventually and without complaint. We need him to want to be a part of Konoha, for his sake as much as ours." A brief pause. "However, should your fears be confirmed and he becomes a danger to the village, I will make no attempt to reason with him. It was my mistake to let him go. It is my error that made him who he is. If he threatens the village that so many of my comrades sacrificed themselves for, I will destroy him myself." Another pause as he wavered. "If that happens, I can only hope that Minato will forgive me."

* * *

Kakashi sat upon a rock in the middle of the stream, reading through the pages of the book in his hand. After concluding his walk he decided to give the three a new scenario to work with by placing himself at a stationary position in a hard to approach spot. There would be no more walking into traps for him. They were going to have to take the initiative if they wanted a chance at the bells.

Though the timer was nowhere near him, a half hour had passed since he had let Sakura run off to fix her wound. The time then was roughly nine o'clock in the morning. That meant the three of them had three hours left to try and take the bells from him. Being less than halfway through their allotted time, this was perfectly fine. But the time to act was soon approaching, and the longer they took to make any attempts, the harder Kakashi was going to make things for them.

Then, from behind him, he heard a splashing sound. No, several splashing sounds. Getting closer very, _very_ quickly.

"_It can't be!"_ he thought, getting to his feet and whipping around, expecting to see one of the three ninja running atop the surface of the water like no academy graduate should. He wouldn't have reacted so, if not for one student whose abilities were largely unknown at this point.

Yet, despite his shock, he was met with a drop to reality as he found out that the sound was from a skipping stone. And as soon as he realised this, he had the uncanny notion that a small pointed object was flying his way at a speed of around seventy miles to the hour. A quick glance to his left confirmed that yes, a small pointed object _was_ flying his way at a speed of around seventy miles to the hour. Seventy four to be precise.

Kakashi needed only to lean back to avoid the kunai that would only have grazed him had it hit. He looked to the source of the attack, and saw to his surprise a tree branch with a piece of string wrapped around it that looked oddly curved. Right away Kakashi knew to look to his right, and just in time was he able to make a dodge from a _much_ more accurate kunai. The same kunai actually.

The knife sailed at him and Kakashi grabbed it, having just enough time to get a look at the one who had assaulted him. However just as he tried he found a weight attached to a chain wrapping around the very same wrist as the hand which he had grabbed the kunai with, and within a second he was bound to his assailant. Said assailant began a charge that Kakashi nullified with a throw of the kunai, forcing a sidestep and a cessation to the assault. And thus began a deadlock.

At one end of the chain was a weight that hung from Kakashi's wrist, attached to the long line of taut metal that spanned an impressive fifteen metres in distance. At the opposite end of this chain was a small hand scythe gripped in the white gloved hands of Naruto. The confident smirk that the boy had worn was shaken by his understanding of the position he had been caught in.

The chain wasn't taut by his hand, but in fact his own resistance to being dragged in. Kakashi, needing not even the muscles in his back, was steadily pulling at the chain with base might. He wasn't just challenging Naruto; he was threatening him. "Who do you think has the upper hand here?" his posture seemed to ask. For the life of him Naruto didn't look at all certain. To cap it off, Kakashi offered him a cool smile.

"You know your mother was very famous for her skill with the kusarigama."

Naruto's shaken expression crumbled. He smirked despondently to himself and shook his head, like a good loser accepting his defeat. And with that his entire body became shrouded in a sudden burst of white smoke, the henge breaking and revealing the true assailant to be none other than Sasuke.

Taking sharp glances around, Kakashi couldn't help but notice that still no one was taking advantage of the current position he was in. Even if he was deadlocked with Sasuke, he now had one arm disabled and had never been in a bigger disadvantage since the start of the exam. Yet still neither of the other two made their approach, just as they hadn't when Sakura had taken her turn. Were they allowing each other to try on their own? That could either be a stupid move or a wise choice. Kakashi couldn't tell. He did have a chance to find clues though.

Since Sasuke dropped his stance Kakashi decided to drop his arm. Right away Sasuke reeled the weighted end of the kusarigama in, but instead of slipping it away somewhere he made a hand sign and the weapon disappeared entirely. Perhaps into that leather strap on his wrist, bearing what was clearly a sealing array. So that explained how he had managed to hide the weapon so easily before.

"At the start of the exam, were you disguising yourself as Naruto to begin with, or did you switch with him after he set off that smoke bomb?" he asked. If one leather strap sealed a kusarigama, he could reasonably see the other as having smoke bombs sealed inside. If he was pretending to be Naruto from the start, and Naruto simply played along, it likely meant nothing. But if he really had switched with Naruto, there was a chance that they had been working together at that point. And if that were true, maybe they were working together even now.

Sasuke chuckled. "I wonder."

Discussions were rapidly concluded as Sasuke made a dash around Kakashi, leaping over the stream and hurling shuriken at the Jonin to forbid him from taking advantage of Sasuke's air time. Kakashi was many times faster than Sasuke however and was able to not only dodge the shuriken but predict Sasuke's landing spot and meet him there in time to deal out a spin kick to the young Uchiha's gut. But Sasuke pulled off a daring feat of aerial acrobatics and flipped himself through the air, using Kakashi's swinging leg as a handhold that gave him the needed grip to perform an upside down helicopter kick to Kakashi's head. Kakashi, still in rotation from his spin kick, was just able to turn back to his front in time to grab Sasuke's shin and stop the attack. Before Kakashi could counter though Sasuke followed this up with a heel jab to Kakashi's jaw that forced the Jonin to escape the encounter all together.

The two of them landed low on the ground, each looking at the other in a new light. Kakashi couldn't help but respect Sasuke's aptitude for taijutsu and his ability to respond to attacks, blocks and counters with seemingly perfect transitions. Sasuke meanwhile was starting to see just how insurmountable an obstacle Kakashi was. So much so that he couldn't help doubting his approach.

"Hey." He called out as an idea came to him. "About this test."

"What is it?" Kakashi enquired with a cock of the brow.

"Does everybody get this same test?"

Kakashi stopped to think about the nature of Sasuke's question a little. Was he thinking about the other teams undergoing their own Genin exams right now? Or was it something else entirely? "It's not a standardised exam if that's what you're asking." He responded. "It comes from the Sarutobi clan. My sensei was taught by the student of the Sandaime Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen. Which is why I know it. Why do you ask?"

Peculiarly, Sasuke dropped his stance and shrugged nonchalantly, all of a sudden lacking any of the tension he'd had not long ago. "My family usually keeps me informed on what to expect, but I'd never heard of anything like this before." he explained, glancing off to the surrounding area for a while. It seemed that something more was on his mind when he looked again at Kakashi. "If it's not too personal, how did you get along with your team mates?"

Surprise caused Kakashi to lose his own tension. He wasn't to be fooled by a dropped stance; he could tell with his own understanding that Sasuke wasn't trying to distract him or anything like that. It was an honest question with understandable reasons for being asked. "Well I wouldn't say we were a match made in heaven or anything like that." Kakashi rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "It was easier to get along with one than the other." He then firmed up as he met Sasuke's eyes. "But that all goes away when the mission gets serious."

To this Sasuke pondered for a while, a slow bob of the head joining the process. Then a small smile showed up on his face, causing Kakashi to wonder just what was going through the boy's mind at this time. But before he could figure it out himself, Sasuke changed his posture once again and threw Kakashi off.

"I'm gonna fall back for now." Sasuke announced. Without anything further he turned and walked off, waving over his shoulder to a confused Kakashi.

Kakashi watched as Sasuke walked away like they weren't in the middle of an important exam. He was at a loss for words even after the Uchiha was out of his sight. For what reason had he chosen to just give up the goose for now? Was there something in Kakashi's words that… oh.

A reflexive palm struck Kakashi on the face as a shuddering realisation hit him. Sasuke was sneakier than he could ever believe an academy student to be.

* * *

"The test is a sham."

Somewhere in the depths of the woods of Training Field Seven, the shadows obstructed the sunlight, leaving a scattered pattern to fall over Sasuke. The young Uchiha made himself relatively comfortable against the bark of a tree while he proclaimed his theory, full of self assurance in his rightness. One could even go as far as to accuse him of being rather smug about the whole ordeal.

It was not to himself whom he laid these claims, but the team mates that had maintained as much of a distance from him as he had them up until this point. Sakura was sitting at the base of another tree, sporting a very well placed bandage over her cleaned knee, checking her pack for stock. She lifted her eyes to look at Sasuke, but treated his words as little more than inane ramblings. She felt no reason to trust Sasuke in the slightest, considering what was at stake.

Naruto on the other hand gave no inclination that he was listening to Sasuke at all. Several hundred yards to the distance he could just barely make out Kakashi stretching his legs after a short while of resting and reading. Naruto wasn't his usual self. He had a bit of a twitch about him, a restless shifting of the fingers and an inability to stay still without bobbing from one foot to the next and craning his neck to glance at nothing but his immediate environment.

Even without their serious attention, Sasuke continued on for the sake of getting his point across. "From what he's told us, the rules of this test are that we have to try and get the bells off of him. But since there are only two bells, only two of us can pass and-" a growl from his stomach cut him off. "… Get lunch."

His hunger wasn't the only one to announce itself. Sakura hugged her grumbling stomach out of fear Sasuke or Naruto would hear it, while Naruto put his hand on the nearest tree and lightly pounded his head against it to distract himself.

"You two were listening when I was talking to him weren't you?" he asked rhetorically, for he'd known that just as he had for Sakura, they had been watching his failed attempt like snakes eyeing the eggs in a bird's nest, waiting for the mother to leave. "He contradicted himself. He said he took the same test as us, be he also said he had a better relationship with one team mate than the other."

"And he could put aside those feelings for the sake of the mission." Sakura concluded, proving that she had indeed been listening while maintaining the distinct air of complete and total disinterest. That was until she thought about it herself. At which point realisation hit her like a wet towel to the rear. "Which means _none_ of them failed the exam!"

To this Sasuke gave a mock clap, glad that somebody finally got what he was trying to say. It earned him a dirty look from Sakura, which was why he stopped it with a note of embarrassment. Sakura finished checking her pack and sat against her tree, her brow furrowed in deep concentration. Sasuke was much the same.

"There has to be a secret to the test." He thought aloud so both of present company could hear. "Some way for all of us to pass. Actually, that's probably the only real way to pass at all."

Sakura let out a long exhale and started to rub her forehead. She was beginning to get a headache along with the discomforts of hunger. Kakashi's warning for them to avoid eating made Sakura think it would be best not to drink anything either. But it wasn't dehydration that made a part of her brain sting. It was the idea that came to her after some careful thought.

"If there wasn't any secret, the purpose of the exam would be to weed out the weakest of the three of us." She handed out her supposition with dubious concerns, not certain that she could trust Kakashi's alleged slip of the tongue. "He'd have us competing against each other to become Genin. Then for all three of us to pass, the objective can't be the bells." The hand rubbing her forehead dropped to cover her eyes and she let out with an exasperated groan. "Oh god…"

"It looks like we have to work together." Sasuke wore a feeble smile that shared Sakura's frustration. He looked at his female team mate, watching her set her hands on her knees and resign herself to what was to come. He understood. He too had been… well, not _pleased_ about the prospect of not havin to put up with one of his two team mates for much longer, but…

Anyway, they didn't have time to think about that sort of thing. "Naruto. What do you think?"

For the first time since Sasuke had started speaking Naruto glanced back his way, if only for a brief moment. His attention was stuck on Kakashi, filled with the impression that looking away for more than a second would result in the Jonin running off and disappearing; something Naruto couldn't allow. That said he had at least kept an ear on the conversation, if just that.

Leaning against the tree, Naruto gave his chin a rub while he considered Sasuke and Sakura's proposal. The logic was there as long as the conditions were true, but what they had was at best a hypothesis built on unreliable evidence. Still he couldn't completely reject the idea. After all, it didn't make sense that one of the three of them would be sent back to the academy on account of being the weakest link. They were after all the top three students in the class. What logic was there in that students with lower grades could pass while one of them fails, just because they were on a different team?

But…

"Nah, I'm just gonna go for the bells."

Sakura sharply lifted her head and shared Sasuke's dumbfounded stare at Naruto, who was just beginning to head off into the trees. "Is your tie cutting off blood flow to your brain?!" she yelled out. "There's no way some academy student is going to steal anything from a _Jonin_! If you go out there on your own we could all end up failing!"

For once Sasuke could agree with what Sakura was saying, and match her tone on top of it. "The bells are just a distraction to keep us from working together!" he straightened up and made a step towards Naruto, who had made a condescendingly courteous pause to listen to their arguments. "Teamwork has to be the objective! The bells don't mean a thing if we don't use that to get them!"

In spite of, or even in response to the desperation of his team mates, the corners of Naruto's mouth curled up into a smile he could only hide by keeping his back to them. "Do you think Hokage-sama would make the mistake of failing a student who could steal a bell from a Jonin?" he asked with a blend of poise and arrogance that was positively infuriating to watch. "You two can do that whole teamwork thing if you like. You'll have to if you want to share the last bell."

Again Naruto made to take his leave, but Sasuke wasn't having it. He rushed in front of Naruto and blocked his path, making his so-called team mate look him in the eyes. "Are you really going to risk getting sent back to the academy by acting on your own?!" he heatedly demanded. "What about that eight year thing? How do you expect to manage that if you're going to take stupid chances like-"

He didn't get to finish his sentence. Naruto roughly pushed past him, a glittering grin plastered on his face as those damn eyes of his fixed themselves on Sasuke's. "There's one thing you're misunderstandin', Sasuke-chan." He said, dropping the pretence and speaking thuggishly. "I'm not gonna fail, 'cos _they_ can't _afford_ to fail me!"

Sakura appeared from around a tree just in time to see Naruto run off. She hadn't seen the short confrontation between the two boys. Not that she needed to. When Naruto was out of sight her attention was inexplicably drawn to Sasuke. The raw anger her other team mate exuded at that moment was like fire in a bottle waiting to burst out and incinerate whoever was closest.

Sasuke realised he was being watched and sharply turned to Sakura, keeping that anger on his face for only a few seconds longer. He made it disappear for the sake of the test. If Naruto was going to act like a jackass, Sasuke couldn't afford to lose his cool. The situation was salvageable, but there was a complicated obstacle standing in the way.

"I guess it's just down to you and me now." he muttered distastefully.

After a moment to catch up, Sakura concurred with a small grunt. For some reason they were having a tough time looking at each other now. No, that wasn't exactly correct. There was no mystery in their aversions to each other. In order to pass, they both had to set aside their differences and agree to work together.

Both of them shared the idea then that Naruto had a better chance of passing than they did.

* * *

In the short time that came, with the hour reaching the tenth of the day, with the sun drawing nearer to its apex and the warmth growing stronger, Kakashi heard the slick sound of the grass being stepped upon from the edge of the tree line.

The heat of the day was ever rising. To the distance in any direction, but most noticeably the stream, the air was conflicted with various temperatures to create a displacement of light known as the mirage. For that reason alone Kakashi felt a sweat coming along. He would have feared misunderstanding had Naruto not been in just the same position as him in that regard.

Kakashi regarded Naruto's approach as questionable. "Foregoing stealth?"

As if a hook caught the corner of his mouth, Naruto gave a lop sided smile. "I don't mean any disrespect, but what gave you that idea?" he adjusted his gloves with a near audible stretch. "Strategy is about being at least one move ahead of your opponent. Stealth is about keeping that distance for as long as you can, if not constantly. Isn't that right?"

An impression was made upon the surface of Kakashi's mask. It was a positive gesture of the lips. "Well said." He professed with just a touch of haughtiness. "Then since you're choosing to stand there like that, should I presume that you think you're at least one move ahead of me?"

The doubt in his voice did nothing to dissuade Naruto. "I hear that you've been feeding us crap about the nature of this exam." The other corner of his mouth was pulled up into a wooden grin. "Sasuke's got this theory that you really want us to band together to take you on. I reckon it's a load of horseshit though."

There was a twitch in Kakashi eye that Naruto missed. "And why is that?"

Though he didn't see the twitch, Naruto was no fool. He noticed the drastic change in tone and adjusted himself accordingly. "I could say that Sasuke's counting too much on you accidentally giving away important information like that." He gestured aloofly. "But really I just think there are better ways to get us to work together than some stupid bell test."

The very instant Naruto finished his response Kakashi felt a push against his restraint as some tiny corner of his mind suggested he cease pleasantries and knock some sense into the opinionated brat. It wouldn't speak well of him though if it were _him_ to resort to violence instead of the one he was supposed to be putting the pressure on. And that aside, he felt words could do more than his fists at the moment.

"Yondaime-sama seemed to think otherwise when he put my team under this test."

The hooked smile on Naruto's face dropped off suddenly into a cracked pall. Ideas of goading Kakashi into slipping up scattered in a biting breeze conflicting with an adhesive heat. It may have been mirage or trick of the mind, but the Jonin before Naruto was beginning to look taller than he recalled from not long ago.

"Yon… are you saying…" Naruto violently shook his head, but grabbed it with one hand a second later to try and regain his composure. He looked at Kakashi with one eye. Kakashi gave no answer to his unfinished question, regardless of the fact that the rest of it ought to be plenty obvious.

The heat of the day was soon surpassed by a boiling brimming inside Naruto's gut. The headway that he had always tried to give to rationale was lost as his emotions overtook it in an angry stride. The voice of reason was drowned out by the snarl of his heart. In the end Naruto had no other choice but to obey his feelings. It didn't show a pretty picture on his face.

"It's not too late to try that teamwork idea." there was an edge to Kakashi's voice. This wasn't the reaction he was expecting.

Bitterly Naruto shook his head. "Not a chance." His posture came to match his violent mood. "Not now that I've heard that."

It was more than a pity that Naruto had to say something like that. Kakashi met Naruto's stance in kind and readied himself for what he was sure would be a no holds barred assault. He could see the smouldering resentment in Naruto's eyes, and sadly he recognised it. Worse still was that he understood it. That was why he knew that words alone would have little meaning now. A show of strength was required.

Naruto wanted to square off, but Kakashi had other plans. He took off at a breakneck dash that startled Naruto into immediately taking on defensive position. But Kakashi feigned and ran right past him, his sounds disappearing the very moment he was out of Naruto's line of sight. Panicked, Naruto whipped around to find the evasive Jonin. He saw nothing, but he felt insecure.

In the threatening silence Naruto reached into his pocket and pulled out a pack of gum. Without dampening his senses even a little he fumbled with a stick and popped it in his mouth, crushing the wrapper in his hand and dropping it at his feet. He pivoted as he searched for Kakashi. There was no way that guy had just run off. He could feel it.

All of a sudden a noise hit Naruto. It was the sound of dirt being broken apart. And it came from below. With pinpoint responsiveness he jumped back, but he was too slow to escape. A hand shot out from the earth and grabbed him by the ankle. With a cry of shock Naruto fell to the ground, but he had no time to recover. He was pulled into the dirt, clawing at it and any hope to get out. But there was none. And soon he was almost completely submerged, with only his head above the ground.

As if it were just water or sand, Naruto saw Kakashi climbing out of the earth. The Jonin stood tall above Naruto and looked down at him with a serious expression.

"You're too-"

"Shut it!" Naruto yelled. With difficulty he made a single hand seal and restrained a smirk.

A hissing sound caught Kakashi's attention and brought it to his own feet. He saw the gum wrapper lying on the ground, but more importantly he saw what looked like a glyph inside of it. The wrapper was in actuality a folded sealing tag. One that was about to go off.

The tag exploded with thick purple smoke and Kakashi reflexively jumped out of it. He landed a good five metres outside the haze, wearing a deep frown. What did Naruto hope to accomplish by doing that? He was only going to choke himself on the smoke. Unless-

Before he could finish the thought the ground started to shake. No, it trembled quickly and was followed with a deep, heavy racket. Startled, Kakashi had less time to react than usual when Naruto burst out of the smoke. But even with less time he could see well how the smoke did not react to the movement of Naruto. With a quick flick of the wrist a shuriken dispelled the Bunshin and allowed the Jonin to search for the real one. A search which was also interrupted.

Two Narutos leapt over the smoke, mimicking Sakura's earlier strategy of using Bunshinjutsu for aerial attacks. With his eye on them Kakashi had only a split second to notice the two kunai that shot out from the fog. But he could plainly see neither would hit him, and knew that the thrower could not have been fake. So he reached for his weapon pouch for shuriken to dispel the now obvious Bunshin just as the kunai flew past him. It was right at that moment he saw Naruto's strategy. When he felt the razor wire attached to the kunai against his chest that was.

The kunai swung around him in no time at all, binding his arms to his side just as the fog began to disperse. The two Bunshin made up for that by exploding right in front of him and throwing fresh smoke in his face. Expecting Naruto to burst through the smoke with an attack, Kakashi was only slightly taken aback when he saw blond hair from the corner of his eye.

"HA!" Naruto cried out, swiping his fist at Kakashi's face. For an instant Kakashi felt truly amazed at the ingenuity Naruto displayed. Alas, a mix of escape and replacement jutsu was all he needed to change the target from himself to a log. By the time Naruto's punch connected, Kakashi was already well out of range.

Hiding within the leaves of a tree, Kakashi viewed the area of the rapid conflict between him and Naruto. The purple haze lifted away into the air and revealed the spot where Naruto should still have been embedded in the ground. Obviously that was not the case, so all that remained was to see what _was_ there in the end. Kakashi wasn't disappointed by what he saw.

In a half sphere around where Naruto had been, the earth was reduced to rubble. A hole filled with various clumps of dirt now sat where solid ground had once been. Somehow, someway, Naruto had escaped by destroying his surrounding environment.

"_Is that Doton Jutsu? Or something else?"_

Down on the ground Kakashi could see Naruto looking around for wherever he was. The way that the would-be ninja carried himself made it abundantly clear he would not fall for a subterranean attack again, or at least not one of the same nature. But there was a certainty in the boy that Kakashi was going to make the next approach. In a way he wasn't wrong, but Kakashi couldn't help noticing the strange role reversal that had just occurred. The cat and the mouse were now acting like the other.

"_There's a lot of anger inside of him."_ Kakashi let out a despondent breath. _"He must really have a grudge against his father. Not that I can blame him."_

Though Kakashi had no experiences of his own to compare to, he could imagine how Naruto felt. From an emotional standpoint he felt that he should try to wind Naruto down and hope to find a way in time to help resolve that anger. But this wasn't the time for that. He had to assess the boy's capabilities and limitations as a ninja. And for that, he would have to shut off his heart and be prepared to resort to cruel tactics.

With his hands Kakashi made two seals; starting with the snake. _"Let's see how he deals with fear."_ He thought, making the rat seal next. _"Demonic Illusion: Hell Viewing Technique!"_

Naruto stopped as a shiver ran down his spine. The next thing he knew a strong wind picked up, carrying with it a flurry of leaves that surrounded him in a cyclone. Shielding his eyes from dust, Naruto had no idea what was happening. Then just as abruptly as they showed up, the leaves blew away. Alarmed, Naruto took to a run, anticipating a trap.

He must have run a hundred yards before he came to a stop. Nothing was happening. No sudden lunges from above or below. No projectiles headed his way. No attacks of any kind he could perceive. Had he been overreacting? Was that thing that just happened a phenomenon of… the… wind…

His thoughts carried off as he began to notice something strange. Was the air getting cooler? He didn't feel as hot as he had a short time ago. But he was still out in the open, in the middle of an extensive plain. He looked up to the sky and saw it was as blue as ever. What was going on? Confused, he dropped his eyes to the ground. And that was when he realised what was wrong.

There was a border to the distance. One of light. Specifically, there was an area a good stretch away from him where the grass was so much brighter than what he was standing upon now. There was a hard edge to that border that stretched into a huge shape around him. It was a shadow. A gargantuan shadow.

A hot wind hit Naruto's head and filled his ears with a rough gust. No, not wind. The hairs on the back of his neck stood on end and he felt himself start to tremble as seconds later another blast of "wind" hit him. Swallowing hard, he made a slow turn around to face the thing that cast the shadow upon him. What he saw nearly tore his mind to shreds.

The Nine Tailed Demon Fox. The Kyuubi no Yoko. A titan of chakra that was as great as it was terrible. A monster whose eyes along instilled the greatest of fear into Naruto's heart. But it was not simply the monster alone that made him harbour such absolute terror. It was where it was. Not inside him. Out in the open, with lips curled back in a hideous smile. Free. And hungry.

Breaths shuddered out of Naruto's mouth as he tried to form words, but he could barely muster up the thoughts to give structure to them. One by one he backed off, giving off barely audible squeaks of horror. "N- yo- you- can't-" he stammered fearfully as the Kyuubi slithered down low, dropping its glinting eyes down to Naruto's level. "I-I STILL HAVE TIME! I CAN DO IT!"

A chuckle that was both booming and quiet hit Naruto like a stampede, pushing him further back. This wasn't real! It couldn't be real!

It… couldn't be…

A thought came to Naruto. One that he clung to like a tether in a tidal wave. It couldn't be real. The Kyuubi wasn't able to just get out as it wanted. This had to be-

Without wasting a second Naruto put his hands together and focused his chakra. The demon lunged out at him, and the boy prayed he was right. As quickly as he could he shut off his chakra network. The claws of the Kyuubi were upon him at the very instant he pumped chakra right back through his system. And just as the black nails touched him, they faded away into nothing at all.

Kakashi landed in the closest tree to Naruto's position, continuing his careful observation. Naruto had managed to identify and dispel the Genjutsu, which told him a good deal about the boy's ability at chakra control. But that wasn't important. He'd heard the words that Naruto said. Those words were perhaps the most troubling thing he'd heard in years.

"_He said he still has time… eight years?"_ a worried frown came upon him. _"Don't tell me… the Kyuubi is threatening Naruto into learning Fuinjutsu?"_

There were a near infinite number of possibilities as to the how and why of such motives. But so many of them spelled bad things on incalculable levels. There was no possible way for Kakashi to ignore such information, nor keep it to himself. It was vital that the Hokage learned about that as soon as possible-

Kakashi stopped. Something was wrong. Naruto was standing straight in the middle of the field, still trembling. But it wasn't out of fear. His skin was flushed and his teeth bared. His fists were clenched tight enough that without the dress gloves he may have cut through his own skin. The boy was beyond angry. He was enraged.

"You think that's funny?!" he growled loudly, glaring into the trees. "YOU THINK THAT'S FUCKING FUNNY?!"

Not knowing the nature of the Hell Viewing Technique, Naruto was under the belief that Kakashi had hand crafted the illusion that had almost driven him into madness. As such all that fury was being directed straight for Kakashi. That was when things really started to turn dangerous.

His eyes flashed red. His pupils stretched into dark slits. The markings on his face became rough and his canines grew in size.

"_He isn't…!"_

A red aura exploded out of Naruto in a vicious tornado of chakra. Kakashi could sense Naruto's chakra levels rising, maybe even doubling. The boy was doing what no one thought he would yet be capable of and was tapping into the chakra of the Kyuubi no Yoko. And he was doing it out of hatred for Kakashi.

"_This is bad!"_ Kakashi thought, starting to rise. _"If Sakura and Sasuke can see this-"_

Again his thoughts were interrupted by Naruto's abnormal actions. He had expected ballistic mannerisms from the boy, but what he got instead was very different. Naruto straightened his back and stretched his arms out to either side. And then in a smooth motion he brought his hands together, clasping them in a seal unlike any Kakashi recognised. He held his hands palms together, fingers wrapped around the edge of the other hand. Then, he closed his eyes.

Kakashi felt it just a second later, though only barely. A wave of chakra passed over him like the wind, hitting him and only him. When it did, Naruto opened his eyes and looked to the very tree, very branch- no. He looked Kakashi straight in the eyes.

"_A sensory technique?!"_

That was as much as Kakashi could attest before Naruto disappeared in a blinding burst of speed. A fraction of a second later the boy appeared at the base of the tree and began to run up it, showing further capabilities Kakashi hadn't expected him to possess. Kakashi couldn't just wait for the boy. He could handle this much. And so he dropped from the bough which he stood on and rushed to meet him.

"_I have to stop him before this gets out of hand!"_

The two of them ran to meet each other, Kakashi ready to knock Naruto out and avoid a potential crisis. With gravity and chakra he was able to initiate a burst of speed enough to flicker away just as Naruto was about to reach him. He feigned a side dash to make the feral boy believe he'd gone out of range, but instead appeared behind him, the edge of his hand striking out to the back of Naruto's neck.

It didn't hit. Naruto stopped and ducked his head, Kakashi's chop slicing clean through the air. _"He can still detect me?!"_ Kakashi thought. Then Naruto counterattacked.

He switched direction fast enough to drop in tandem to Kakashi. With his back to the Jonin he was able to drive his elbow into Kakashi's stomach with strength far surpassing what any twelve year old boy should have. But that wasn't all. With the turning momentum of his elbow blow Naruto rotated into a position to punch Kakashi with his other hand in an even more powerful strike. Enough to throw Kakashi through the air.

"_He's faster too!"_ Kakashi realised with a wince. The two attacks were painful, but his flak jacket and muscles ensured there was no serious damage. He was in a bad position however when he saw Naruto pressing himself against the tree, eyes still upon him. And then he jumped.

Kakashi was ready and capable of blocking any attack Naruto wanted to deal to him. In the split second it took Naruto to be in parallel to Kakashi, a pre-emptive strike was already in the making. Kakashi grabbed Naruto by the collar and with his knees flipped through the air. But the time it took him to throw Naruto was more than what Naruto needed to play his card. It wasn't a card Kakashi had expected, but the ram seal Naruto formed was worryingly telling.

With the gum Naruto had been chewing on he blew a bubble. When he was face to face with Kakashi he puffed out extra hard and burst that bubble. The air inside, coated with saliva mixed with something in the gum, dispersed as a spray into Kakashi's face. The Jonin had the sense to close his eye, and his nose told him the rest of the story. Naruto had used a spicy gum to make a pepper spray.

Hurling Naruto across the field, Kakashi landed on his feet uncertainly. Naruto somersaulted into a roll that landed him on his hands and knees, grinning and glaring at Kakashi. "Running blind now you cycloptic bastard!" he snarled victoriously, getting to his feet. He started to run for Kakashi, but he stalled immediately after. His breath was caught in his throat all of a sudden.

He knew the feeling that was hitting him at that time. The impression of a knife across the artery, of hands around the throat. It was the stifling sensation of murderous intent. Naruto no longer felt like he was fighting someone who was just defending himself. He felt like the person in front of him was ready and willing to use lethal measures. And was good at it too.

"I didn't think I'd need to resort to this, but it seems you've left me without a choice." Kakashi spoke out. He took his hand to his forehead protector and in one motion adjusted it, covering his eye and revealing his other one. Which he then proceeded to open. "Oh, and I'm _not_ cycloptic."


	7. Chapter 7

Growing up

Sasuke and Sakura had remained in silence for a good while since Naruto abandoned them. In many ways they were reflections of each other, but there were just as many inversions to be found. Sakura's worn clothes and bandaged features were a stark contrast to Sasuke's seemingly brand new attire and unmarked complexion. Yet they both appeared so very despondent at that time.

They both knew what it was they had to do if they wanted to get through this exam successfully. But reconciliation was never an easy thing, especially when a relationship of conflict was all the two of them had ever had. Four years of rivalry against three of barely knowing one another. To go back from all that would be the same as acting as if they'd never met at all. If only there wasn't so much bitterness in the way.

It was funny in a sense. Sasuke had often heard tales of school dramas, where a boy and a girl enter into a relationship that becomes the talk of all their peers. He hadn't taken long to realise his position in the academy by way of student politics, so he had always wondered if he would ever get caught up in such drama. But he'd never expected the kind of connection with the female counterpart to be one of a purely antagonistic nature.

Sakura lightly kicked some loose dirt at her feet, distracting herself with the small cloud stirred up by her motion. She didn't like to think at moments like this. She'd always seen problems of a social nature as trivial and not worth the time or effort it would take to try and resolve them. It was so much easier to just push the troubling person out of your life and get back to what really mattered.

"We're wasting time." She muttered. "We have to settle things and convince Uzumaki before he gets us all failed."

Sasuke could barely give out a breath of response. He was well aware of their situation, and Sakura was as guilty of delaying progress as he was. Why couldn't she be girly at least once and get things moving along? He might feel a little more willing if it didn't have to be him who initiated the heart to heart.

The sound of Sakura's heel hitting the tree behind her in a constant beat was maddening. Was that all she intended to do after verbally pressing the matter at hand?!

Then it stopped. "I don't know what to do." Sakura confessed.

Sasuke's head dropped to his chest. Of course she didn't. In five years she had rarely spoken a word to anyone if it wasn't an instructor asking her to answer a question or repeat something she'd studied. Whereas Sasuke had maintained a constant stream of social activity throughout that entire duration. If there was anyone between the two of them that had a chance of getting the ball rolling, it was obviously him.

And so with a twinge of unease he opened up his mouth. "If I had to guess, I'd say the first step would be to clear the air." he straightened himself up and stared out into the trees, his hands buried in his pockets. "If we're going to work together we can't have underlying issues that we keep to ourselves. We can't be passive aggressive with each other."

He turned his head to see what Sakura thought of his suggestion. He was immediately flustered when he saw her round green eyes watching him, listening intently. "Ok." She agreed. "What's next?"

Unable to keep up the eye contact, Sasuke quickly looked away, rubbing a reddening neck at the same time. "N-next… we have to get past the petty things. Forget about the worthless stuff that made us mad at each other in the academy. It's not like we're in that same situation anymore, so there's no reason to continue to hate each other over the little details."

"…Is that it?"

Sasuke's brow twitched. Sakura wasn't making this easy. "No. I think after all that negative stuff is out of the way we should try and replace it with the positive." Of this he was feeling most nervous, but he knew it to be true. "Then when all that's done, we do our best from here on out to show each other our better sides… that's all I got."

It was embarrassing to put all that out there. Sasuke knew before he'd even mentioned such actions that he was condemning himself to follow through. He couldn't back out of his own idea now, could he?

After a moment of thought Sakura nodded her head and bounced to her feet, putting herself directly in front of Sasuke. "Ok then, you go first." She stated. But then she coolly added. "Show me how it's done."

Sasuke missed none of the warning in her invitation. He knew that however far he went with the negative, Sakura would do her best to match him, if not surpass him. That was why they couldn't chance reducing this conversation down to spouting verbal assaults at each other. In order to avoid that, Sasuke had to put his best foot forward and count on Sakura to do the same. With that in mind he was able to build up the courage to look Sakura in the eye as he began the proceedings.

"You're hostile to everyone you meet. If you're not being confrontational with people, you treat them like they're not even worth acknowledging."

Sakura winced. That was a harsh thing to say. Harsher because she knew it to be true. But she kept her mouth shut and didn't interrupt.

"You always show up looking like someone's been beating you. But when anyone tries to care you shove them away and treat them like idiots for ever giving a crap about you."

That time Sakura couldn't help but look away. She hadn't been expecting to hear those kinds of things at a time like this, not from someone like Sasuke. It was difficult to listen to.

"All you had to do was walk in the room to bring the mood down." Sasuke too had trouble looking Sakura's way. It was one thing to fight verbally with someone, but another to say things like this. "Eventually everybody learned to ignore you and move on. But the two of us were pushed together because I was the only one who could compete with you. Ignoring you was never an option for me. So I hated you instead."

That was all he could bring himself to say. He didn't regret saying those things, but that wasn't to say he was relieved having gotten them off his chest. As a result of having been in frequent contact with her, he'd inadvertently come to know her more than anyone else did. That wasn't to say he really knew anything about why she was the way she was. But there was something in her solitude that was familiar to him.

"You remind me of my brother."

The instant those words left his lips he wished he'd kept silent. Sakura's attention was brought to him again, curiosity mixing with the other emotions she'd accumulated from having listened to Sasuke for the past couple of minutes.

"He was the pride of the Uchiha. Everyone in my clan saw a bright future after my father's retirement, knowing Itachi would take his place. But some things happened a while back. It looked like the clan had turned their back on him, and he'd turned his back on them." he began to look depressed. "And me as well."

His words carried off with the stirring of the wind. Sakura could no longer hold her steel against him, try though she might. They were both beginning to feel truly uncomfortable, Sakura wishing as much that she hadn't heard that as Sasuke wished he hadn't said it. A small part of both of them wanted to go back to the way things were an hour ago, so long as it wasn't now.

"I-I've never said that to anyone before." Sasuke murmured, reddening as he left his step into himself and returned to the here and now. He had to move on for the sake of both of them moving on. For that, he steadied himself and met Sakura again with a touchy smile. "Don't tell anybody alright?"

Sakura seemed a little distracted, but she gave Sasuke a tiny nod. "I promise."

Giving her word made Sasuke breathe a little easier. He took a few seconds to collect himself again, and then carried on with what he was saying. "Despite the way things were between us, I could see how hard it was for you to get to where you are now." he was less cautious with his words, but just as embarrassed as before. "I was mad about you overtaking me at first, but then I realised. You managed to become stronger and smarter than everyone in the class without a single advantage given to you. All that hard work and perseverance…" he gave a small laugh. "I know I've never tried that hard at anything in my life. I guess beneath all that other stuff… I respected that about you."

His words hit Sakura harder than the wind, leaving her with a slight gape to her lips and surprise stretched across her face. Never in her life had she ever expected to hear such a thing come out of the mouth of Uchiha Sasuke. Neither had she heard such a thing from anyone other than the instructors of the academy. It was the first time in five years that anyone had praised her without using her as an example for others. It was… it was…

Feeling her face growing hot Sakura quickly looked away with a glare not aimed at Sasuke, but at herself. She pushed aside the thought she was about to have out of fear of what it might do to her. It was hard, but she kept it at bay. Now wasn't the time or the place, and the company certainly wasn't right. Even if Sasuke was willing to tell her things about his home life, she couldn't do the same. Selfish though it sounded, those things were private.

The strange way that Sakura acted made Sasuke unsure of how he himself should feel. He couldn't tell if he'd crossed the line or stepped on a landmine. Had he made things better, or worse? He yearned for Sakura to at least make that clear instead of leaving him in the dark over here. Even so, he didn't say anything. Sakura had already confessed she wasn't good with this sort of thing.

As the seconds passed the mood shown on Sakura's face became hard to pin down. She tried to force a scowl, but she couldn't maintain it. One hand gripped the other arm and she found herself staring off and away from Sasuke, the redness of her cheeks not going anywhere. Eventually she was able to put her pride aside, and confess to the truth.

"I don't hate you."

In the silence that followed she chanced a glance at Sasuke, though she could only bear it for as long as it took her to see his expression. Like she had a while ago, his brow shot up in surprise while the rest of his face displayed his confusion. Shamed and aggravated by what she herself was saying, Sakura felt like a mess as she continued.

"There are lots things about you that annoy me. Your noisy games with your entourage, how you always take everything so easily, that you don't have any ambitions. But I'm not petty enough to hate someone over something like that!"

She stopped after her sudden yelling. The state she was getting herself in was like nothing Sasuke had ever seen of her. Normally he would think to placate someone who was acting as such. But he wanted to hear more.

Delicately he posed a question. "Why then-"

"Because-!" Sakura shouted again, cutting herself off before she could finish. Her knuckles were whitening and she looked as if she was about to get a nosebleed from blood pressure in her head. Was being openly honest so difficult for her? "Because you're…" her voice became smaller. Shame filled her face. "… the only one I can take my frustrations out on."

A leaf fell out from a branch, drifting lazily down the air. It nestled on top of Sasuke's head without any notice from the Uchiha. He was too busy giving Sakura a look that almost never came upon him. He could feel his eye twitching and a vein in his temple pulsating even as he tried to maintain at least a semblance of a smile, though only succeeding in a contorted variant.

Every emotion kindling inside of Sasuke was demanding he press Sakura for more. But the logical side of him could already see it all. As the only member of the class who bothered to interact with her, at least until Naruto showed up, he could see that somehow or another he would be a strong social figure to Sakura. And thinking back to all those vicious sparring matches, he'd known for a long time that Sakura was taking advantage of their fights to vent her stress. Which was fine, since Sasuke pretty much did the same thing. Still, hearing it flat out like that made it easy to get angry about it.

"I knew that… well, no." Sakura was mumbling in a low voice that Sasuke had to crane his ears to hear. "I was aware that everyone else in the class was giving up on me. I was relieved, because that was what I wanted. Or… what I think I wanted. I'm not sure." The redness started to fade away as she physically calmed herself down, taking on a sombre tone as she spoke. "In a way I'm glad that you hated me. I wanted an enemy more than I wanted a friend. It made going on a little easier."

By now Sasuke wasn't able to keep up his irritation in the slightest. What Sakura was saying was difficult to understand. He'd never in his life heard of someone wanting an enemy over a friend. It didn't make sense to him. And with that he realised that Sakura was far more unusual than he first thought. For the first time he felt himself being concerned about her. Not that he could figure out why.

"Having you as an enemy made the rest of my life easier to deal with." Hard though it was, Sakura made herself look Sasuke in the eye. "But my goal is to do whatever I can to end crime all over Fire Country. I know there's going to be a lot more difficulties ahead than this. If no longer being opponents is something I have to do in order to get closer to that path… I'm willing to settle for just being team mates."

There was conviction in her voice, Sasuke could see that. Sakura was honestly saddened by the thought of no longer possessing the bad relationship she had with him. It was so strange that Sasuke could barely wrap his head around it. But there was one thing he understood, and one thing he could act upon.

He took the few steps needed to close the distance between him and Sakura. There, he raised his hand and lightly hit her forehead protector with his palm.

"You idiot." He smiled. "What is "just team mates" supposed to mean?"

Sakura frowned. "What?"

Letting out a quiet laugh, Sasuke looked over Sakura's head to the trees. "My dad told me that your team mates are the same as your family. When you leave this village and go out on a mission, they are your only connection to home. They're the ones who will be there beside you whether you succeed or fail, and you have to stand by them just the same." He grinned and rubbed the back of his head shyly. "Well, thinking of each other as siblings seems too embarrassing. But if we can get rid of the antagonism… I wouldn't mind having you for a team mate."

He looked at Sakura again to see what she thought of this. Given the list of abnormal things she'd been saying he couldn't be sure just how she would respond. He was glad then to see that she was only mildly blushing, averting her eyes and furrowing her brow. Exactly as he'd expect of her.

"O… Ok." She mumbled.

Sasuke laughed again. Since when did Haruno Sakura ever look cute? He decided to keep that question to himself though, since it seemed like they were finally getting to where they wanted to be.

"Well, it wasn't exactly how I thought it would be, but I think that about wraps it up." He grinned, nodding his head off to the distance. "But it's all for nothing if we can't convince that pain in the ass to do the same." There was a moment of hesitation as he reddened a little too. Then, on a decisive notion, he held out his hand. "What do you say? Partners?"

"Huh?!" Sakura wore a grossed out expression at Sasuke's last words. She couldn't tell if such a question was outdated by thirty years of fifty. A testy cock of the brow from Sasuke told her she was being antagonistic again, so she quickly checked herself and with an inward groan reached out to shake Sasuke's hand. "Fine… _partner._"

Pressing himself against the surface of a large rock embedded in the earth, Naruto listened keenly for his opponent hiding within the foliage. He had managed to condense that red chakra, the chakra of the Kyuubi, to the point where the only visible clues to its presence were the ones put upon his own body. It made hiding so much easier.

As the crimson hue of his irises implied, great resentment was shown against his features. That had not waned in the time since he had last encountered Kakashi. Namely because that encounter had been less than a minute ago. Naruto still nursed a wound from that encounter. His right hand hung limply beside him from a dislocated wrist. It had been a gift from Kakashi to convince Naruto to stand down. A message the boy had yet to bear any intentions of acknowledging.

Checking all the angles that the rock did not cover, and staying more aware of the earth beneath his feet than he normally would, Naruto inspected his wrist with a wince. It felt like millions of near microscopic carnivores were gnawing at his muscles ravenously. Not a pain he was unfamiliar with, but still enough that he couldn't ignore it.

After another quick to check to make sure he wasn't being surveyed, Naruto raised his disabled hand and stared at it. His brow furrowed in concentration and the red in his eyes diluted slightly to make a purple shade with his natural blue. Through the sleeves of his shirt on his upper arms a faint red glow could be seen. And then, with a cringe worthy crack, Naruto's wrist snapped back into place.

Letting out a breath of relief, Naruto tested his hand to see if everything was in order. Each finger wriggled without ache or pains and rotating the wrist caused him no discomfort. With that matter resolved Naruto backed off from the rock and turned on the spot, tuning all his senses to their sharpest in his search for Kakashi. When they didn't help, he put his hands together in his unconventional seal-

Before he could use his jutsu Naruto was interrupted by the sudden appearance of Kakashi. The Jonin didn't so much drop from a tree as he did dart down to the rock, landing on it and kicking off in an instant. Surprised, Naruto jumped back and raised his guard, only to find that Kakashi was a Bunshin and the real one was behind him.

At a time like this, in any other situation, Kakashi might have berated Naruto for his lack of observation. He should have seen the Bunshin's lack of shadow, but had missed it due to his own carelessness. Now wasn't the time for teaching though. Too much time had already passed. The situation had to be contained.

The Taijutsu of a seasoned Jonin is not visible to the naked eye. In as much time as it would take for most humans, ninja or not, to recognise movement at all, a Jonin could lay several strikes upon his or her opponent. Kakashi was a bit more than a seasoned Jonin. He was confident he could lay four hits on Naruto before risking counterattack.

The first was a hard blow to the back of the neck with the base of Kakashi's palm. Next was both the second and third strike in close succession. Kakashi lashed out with his foot and struck the back of both of Naruto's knees. Fourth was not so much a strike as a shove with the force of a punch aimed at the rear of Naruto's skull. Then he simply had to wait as his attacks did their job.

For Naruto the impacts were near simultaneous. The blow to his neck stunned him, leaving his mind blank as his knees buckled and he fell forward. He would have been able to stop himself from hitting the ground, had the shove not propelled him further forward than he was expecting. Before he even knew what was happening he was face down in the dirt. And that was when Kakashi made his final move.

The weight of the Jonin was put down on the centre of his back as Kakashi knelt on him, rendering it impossible for Naruto to get back up. If not for the fact that Naruto was painfully familiar with this kind of submission he may have struggled. As it was, he settled for glaring at Kakashi with one eye.

"That's enough of that." Kakashi warned. "You can settle down or I can knock you out. Your decision."

Naruto watched Kakashi's equally red eye, clearly showing thoughts of resisting anyway. But he must have seen the futility of such a thing, for his muscles relaxed and his tension ceased. The red in his eyes faded into blue, his canines shrank and his facial markings became neat again. Until not even his Sharingan could see the signs of the Kyuubi's chakra, Kakashi held on. When that time passed however, he got up to his feet and allowed Naruto the same courtesy.

After righting himself Naruto turned back and leant against the rock, brushing dirt off his clothes and making sure he wasn't cut. Kakashi stood back and watched the boy go about this routine, noting that even without the chakra of the Kyuubi the anger had not drained from his face. He was merely exerting proper control over it. That was a good thing. Self control was vital for a Jinchuuriki more than anything else.

While Naruto was preoccupied with making himself presentable again, Kakashi switched his forehead protector around again, bringing relief as he could close his Sharingan eye. One of the pockets of his flak vest contained chemical wipes for removing toxins and such from the skin. Perfect for getting rid of Naruto's odd pepper spray attack.

Eventually Naruto came to realise he would not be able to avoid Kakashi's gaze any longer and he reluctantly looked the Jonin in the eye. Having lost to Kakashi's skill Naruto had no designs on making a half assed and desperate attack. For all intents and purposes the current time could be considered a cease fire.

The two silently stared at each other for a good couple of minutes. Little by little Naruto was calming down. Kakashi waited until he thought Naruto was settled enough to talk before going ahead and doing just that. "Do you mind if I ask you a question?" he ironically enquired. Without waiting for permission, he went ahead and asked it. "Why do you dress like a waiter?"

Unguarded from such a question, Naruto's brow shot up in surprise. As such the question was left hanging in the air as long as it took Naruto to understand that he hadn't misheard. At that point his brow dropped back down to a flat and pointed look. "Why do you dress like a ninja?" he rebutted.

Confused, Kakashi answered immediately. "Well, I _am_ a ninja."

"So I see."

The face Kakashi made at that was the same Naruto made when the question was posed to him. Even so Naruto chose to give a real answer if for no better reason than it was on a topic he liked talking about. "I guess you spend your life living one way, you can either reject all other ways of life or embrace them all." He looked over the stains on his shirt and wondered if he should just throw it out instead of trying to clean it. "I didn't feel like lollygagging so I went straight for the polar opposite of my old life and found I kind of liked it." he looked at Kakashi then. "You could say I find it liberating."

Kakashi folded his arms with a thoughtful look about him. He wasn't sure he could understand where Naruto was coming from, though that was hardly surprising. In any case, now that they could talk about something like that, it was best to move on to something more. "Before we go any further, there's one thing I have to confirm." That got Naruto's attention. "I understand you have some ill will towards your dad. But what are your feelings about the village?"

The mere mention of the Yondaime soured Naruto again, though not to the same degree as it had before. He dug his hands in his pockets and took a deep, sharp breath to keep his cool. He stared off into the distance, searching for something beyond the trees.

"Why would you believe anything I say about that? I know what I am to Konoha. If I don't make myself look like a ready and willing member of your society, there's every chance somebody's gonna decide to just pull the Kyuubi out of me and drop my body in a ditch somewhere." Suddenly he put on the biggest and fakest smile he'd ever made. "I love this village very much, so please don't strap me to a table and rip my life out of my body!"

Kakashi's expression was unchanging, and remained so until Naruto's did. The smile retreated and was replaced with something cold yet conflicted. "I don't have any choice in the matter. I have to give a damn about this village because it's the only way I get to keep breathing." He gave out a long exhale and set his eyes on Kakashi. "The prosperity of this village and my life go hand in hand. I'll do whatever the village needs, but I'll do it for no one's sake other than my own."

It was getting rather windy. A chill breeze conflicted with the heat of the sun. But Kakashi could ignore it for staring at Naruto. It had been a long time since he'd seen such a young boy with such a look in his eye as what he had now. Kakashi had seen it in his own reflection, but only after seeing the horrors of war and what it did to the people you cared about. And yet Naruto, who had seen none of that, looked exactly the same as he had back when he saw his father holding a tanto to his stomach.

"_Back then I turned away and let dad choose his own fate."_ Kakashi thought. _"He didn't go through with it, but what would have happened if I tried to stop him? Would he have been able to recover like he did? Would I have been able to stay as I was, not thinking of those who don't follow the rules as trash?"_

An uncomfortable twang hit his gut. Something terrible occurred to him. _"What if dad had gone through with it? What if he never became Hokage? It was his actions that led to Naruto being sent out of the village. His own misjudgement that caused Naruto's way of life."_ A frown came upon him. _"As the student of the Yondaime and the son of the Godaime…"_

This time it was Kakashi who gave out the long exhale. Raising his eyes to the sky he looked through the leaves to the clouds and gave thought to a rather serious matter. Naruto was looking at him strangely, perhaps wondering if now was a good time to attack. "The Jinchuuriki is a tool of both war and peace. He can be a weapon to turn the tide of conflict or a deterrent to keep enemies from attacking. As such a Jinchuuriki must be strong and in control, otherwise the village is put at a disadvantage to the other villages and their Jinchuuriki."

Naruto clearly knew about this, as his unaffected expression told. "What's your point?"

Kakashi lowered his gaze to Naruto, somewhat bright and curious. "If war was no longer a concern of the village, then the Jinchuuriki would be relatively free to live how he-"

"Naruto!"

Atop the rock behind Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura made an unexpected appearance. They both glared down at Naruto with sweat streaked faces. However long they had been searching for him, they had done it fast an under a harsh heat. Now that they found him, he wasn't sure what they planned to do.

Cicadas chirped among the trees, filling the otherwise soundless woods with their incessant noise. A trio of squirrels each chewed on acorns, watching the scene play out below. It had been a few summers since last they saw a display as such. With their meagre intelligence they viewed on and nibbled their food, hoping above hope that the branch they were on would not explode like it had in the past.

The rock that stood in the centre of the clearing was serving as a perch to two would be ninja. Uchiha Sasuke and Haruno Sakura were like hawks ready to drop from the nest and dive at their prey. Prey that on this occasion seemed to be Uzumaki Naruto. By the squirrels' accounts he would make an easy target, since he wasn't even looking their way.

The squirrels weren't the only ones viewing this scene with interest. His chance to say to Naruto what he wanted to say was gone. In the presence of those other two, it simply wasn't appropriate to continue. But Naruto was sharp. Enough so that he was able to extend his awareness to his team mates behind him without taking his eyes off of Kakashi's. The dullness in those blue circles were gone. What Kakashi had said, if nothing else, had earned his critical focus.

Sakura and Sasuke had no idea of what it was they were intruding upon. Approaching Naruto before he ran off again was more important than finding out whatever it was he and Kakashi had been talking about. In that same frame of mind, silence wasn't beneficial to their goal. "If you're going to be an arrogant idiot, do it on your own time!" Sakura shouted.

"We're not just going to stand back and let you ruin this test for all of us!" Sasuke added in with aggression to match Sakura's. "Even if we're wrong and this test isn't about team work, what's the harm in having some backup?"

As they berated Naruto with some very good points, Kakashi was wondering if they even realised he was still there. More importantly however he wondered what Naruto was going to do. If teamwork was such a hard thing for him, how did he expect to achieve his goal? What would the Kyuubi do if Naruto messed things up?

"_Should I tell him the truth about the test?"_

Sakura and Sasuke continued to stare relentlessly at Naruto's back, waiting for him to at least acknowledge what they had said. The dirt on his body told them without a doubt he'd been fighting with Kakashi. The fact that he was still conscious had to mean he was recuperating. Surely then he knew the challenge that was being-

"What are you talking about?" Naruto asked, casting a casual smile over his shoulder. "I was just giving you two some time to talk things over."

The three around him, Sakura, Sasuke and Kakashi included, all sent to him their own brand of doubt. He turned his head back to face Kakashi, smiling just as plentifully, but with more of his typical devious glimmer. "You didn't think I was some sorta lone wolf did ya?" he asked with a chuckle. "I'd be bored out of my mind if it was just me and this guy from here on!"

While Kakashi tried to figure out whether or not he should be offended, Sakura and Sasuke dropped down from the rock to stand next to Naruto, looking plenty uncertain and having plenty of reason to. Sasuke watched Naruto from the corner of his eye, a slight narrowing occurring while the blond boy was looking the other way.

"_These two made one hell of a mess back there."_ He thought, casting a quick look to Kakashi and back. In their pursuit he and Sakura had come across the clearing where Naruto and Kakashi had fought, witnessing remnants of an impressive struggle. _"If Naruto didn't make that crater, then Kakashi did. Either case, their fight was on a higher level than Sakura's or mine."_ He found himself giving a sterner stare to Naruto. _"What's so special about this guy that would make a Jonin put in extra effort that he didn't with us?"_

Sakura was more focused on the now than the then, particularly in regards to Naruto. Her nature wanted her to call Naruto out on his sharp heel faced turn and get the truth out of him. She would have tried, had Sasuke not been in her peripheral vision. After what they'd talked about back there, and after all Sakura had learned about the way people looked at her, she knew she couldn't behave as she had in the past. She had to be better than she was, not just as a Kunoichi, but as person overall. And not just for the sake of passing this test.

In the end though it was Naruto who was the most bothered. He hid behind a tough face, but the truth was he was concerned about what Kakashi had been trying to say to him. He understood the base meaning of the words. If Konoha could somehow reach a stable frame of peace with the other nations then he as the Jinchuuriki would be able to live without the burden of being a weapon. Where was Kakashi going with that? He wanted to know.

"Well it looks like the three of you are plenty convicted." Kakashi remarked, keeping a smile at bay. He instead raised a hand and gave them a gesture to approach. "Come on then. I'm ready when you are."

No matter how it was, Naruto knew he would have no choice but to depend on Sasuke and Sakura for now. He wasn't stupid enough to tap into the Kyuubi's chakra with them around and he didn't stand a chance against Kakashi without it. His only hope was to give their team work a try, even if he didn't like to think it.

"I can give you guys an opening." He said in a low voice. The effort was unnecessary, because Kakashi could read his lips, but it served the purpose nonetheless. Sakura and Sasuke were listening intently. "But you'll have to act fast. Any more than a second's delay and the chance is gone."

Sasuke and Sakura were justifiably uncertain of Naruto's vague plan. However the simple fact that he intended on supporting _them_ instead of the other way around was comforting. For that reason they both gave sharp nods and readied themselves for whatever it was Naruto had in mind.

While Sasuke and Sakura sidled away from Naruto to give each other room, Kakashi regarded them all with keen intrigue. It was a pleasant surprise to see them come together like this. And he was genuinely interested to find out just how they were going to attack. That said he had no intention of making things easy for them. After all, the test was never about getting the bells in the first place.

A short time passed until everyone was in their positions. Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura all locked eyes with Kakashi, who was clearly ready to respond to whatever trick they tried to pull. Timing was crucial for such a thing. Naruto understood that. Still, he felt confident enough to give them a signal. "Three…" he started with a grin growing on the edge of his mouth. "Two-"

The moment was suddenly and violently disrupted by something that pierced through the trees like a swarm of angry bats screeching in pain. The three ninjas in training felt their hearts come to a frozen stop as somewhere past the woods the sound of a shrill bell ringing permeated to their position. The timer Kakashi had set was giving its loud call that it had concluded its countdown.

Nothing seemed to move. Or at least, Naruto, Sakura and Sasuke couldn't hope to budge an inch as long as the bell continued to ring. Every repeating note was like a leech draining at their resolve, visibly deflating them until nothing but their own stunned faces remained. When the bell concluded its cry, silence took its place. Even the cicadas seemed to quiet.

Kakashi had his eyes on the rough area where he thought the timer to be. It was to his surprise that he too had managed to lose so much track of the time. As an extra measure to be absolutely sure he looked straight up to the sun. A moment's glance was all that was needed to confirm that it was indeed noon.

"I suppose it's time for your evaluation." He said, returning his gaze to the three young ones, who were slowly undoing their ready stances. "Individually you all show great aptitude when you take the initiative. Yet in the beginning you were far too cautious and let opportunities pass you by.

"Sakura, you showed adaptive thinking and your speed at placing and removing traps is one of your strong points. Sasuke, your deceptiveness and taijutsu prowess was very impressive. And Naruto, your ability to make quick decisions and follow through with them is a trait you should be proud of. On your own each of you could become very promising ninja."

His words were kind and honest, but it was like the calm before the storm. His arms folded and his stare hardened, and each of the three were pretty sure of what they were about to hear. "But as Sasuke theorised, the purpose of the test wasn't to evaluate your individual skills, but your capability to work together as a team. In this sense, you are all failures in equal measure." Now his words were harsh, cutting, and not the least bit undeserved. "Reluctance to forgive old grudges," Sasuke winced. "a simple unwillingness to get along with others," Sakura. "and _false_ notions of superiority."

Naruto could feel his ears burning hotter than even the sun could manage. His fingers curled into tight fists and anger welled up inside him again. But this wasn't the kind of anger that had set him upon Kakashi, that released the Kyuubi's chakra and fuelled his rage further. This was anger that was also shame. It was a feeling he shared with the two people on either side of him.

"There's a word for those who conduct themselves in such a manner." Kakashi turned his back on the lot of them, yet still maintained a stoic expression. "That word is "children". You may have the skills to make it as ninja, but Konoha does not nor will it ever accept children into our ranks. The fact that after all your training you can still act as such is indication enough that none of you has what it takes to meet the standard of _Konoha_ ninja." He gave them one last icy look. "Perhaps you should apply to the police force, if you don't want your skills to go to waste."

That final statement came crashing down on the three of them like a ghostly landslide. As the man who would have been their sensei walked away from them, so too did they see that the future they had most of their young lives working towards depart from them, leaving them alone in the forest that was Training Field Seven.

Sakura was the first one to make any kind of motion. She turned herself away from the two boys, afraid that they would see that she could no longer keep up a strong guard. Her breaths were becoming ragged. She couldn't help it. She had failed to keep her promise to her mother and father. All those years, all that pain. All gone to waste. No matter how tough she was, even she wanted to cry at a time like this.

Even if her face couldn't be seen, her body betrayed her emotions. Naruto could see it in the corner of his eyes. He didn't intrude on it. He was too busy being overwhelmed by his own hopelessness to think about anyone else. All so strangely he could feel his heart beating in his chest. It felt slow, but hard. Like a hand pounding at a door, tired and lost. Everything seemed to fade around him.

Sasuke wasn't exempt from his team… from Naruto and Sakura's sadness. The thought of returning home to his family and telling them about his failure was too much to bear. All he could see was the disappointment on his mother's face and the embarrassment etched on his father's. And behind them, there was Itachi. Wearing an expression of…

All of a sudden Sasuke found himself clenching his fists, gritting his teeth and glaring at the earth. Blood pounded through his body and ignited something inside of him that he had so rarely touched upon. He couldn't define it. He could only envision it. A black flame, like that of a candle, had started to blaze furiously. He recognised it and feared it. The black flame of hatred. But with just a little willpower he could change it. The black became blue, and the fire became steady. But still it blazed with incredible strength.

"We're not done here." Sasuke raised his eyes and felt stronger. Adrenaline filled his body and his waned confidence came flooding back. He fixed his fierce gaze upon Kakashi, distant though he was. "Would a ninja return home from a mission empty handed? No. He wouldn't dare turn back without doing what he set out to do." He looked at his fist, at his knuckles whitened by his grip. "I'm not a child. I don't need anyone's permission to be a ninja. I'm _not_ giving up."

Naruto caught himself staring at Sasuke, or more particularly, at the strength the Uchiha was displaying. It was that strength that backed up his words and made them even more powerful than they already were. Just in hearing them and looking at the one who said them, Naruto felt his despair ebbing away and his own yellow flame burning up inside. "I like the way you think!" he found himself grinning as he became energized. There was however one issue of concern. "What do you say Kega-chan?"

Surprised by the rude nickname, Sakura accidentally shot Naruto a dirty look before she'd been able to collect herself. Quickly hiding her face again, she took a moment to steady herself before turning to face the other two again. "We're not being tested anymore. If we attack him now, we're assaulting a member of the village's military personnel." In spite of her private wishes, she was stern. "I won't break the law."

Rather taken aback, Naruto had the uncomfortable thought that they were doomed if Sakura was going to be like that. It had to be all of them who attacked Kakashi. Even one less person and they were better off not trying at all. The only hope they had was to convince Sakura that going along with their plan was the right thing to do.

It was good then that Naruto was what one would call a devious bastard.

Earlier he had said that he was fond of magic tricks. To be specific, he was fond of performing them. He had never presented such a talent to an audience before, but he believed his skill with sleight of hand to be one of his better qualities. "What if I were to tell you that we _are_ still being tested?" he asked with a dramatic waving of the hand. At the same time he reached into his breast pocket and pinched the stem of his fob watch. With the just the slightest pull and twist he delicately adjusted the time. Then with just a touch of flair he pulled the fob watch out and showed the face to Sakura. According to the watch, the time was eleven forty in the morning. Twenty minutes before noon.

It was a mean trick to play on the dutiful Sakura. If things went badly and they got in trouble, it would be Naruto who dragged her down with him. But if that were the case he'd openly confess to his deception to clear Sakura's name. He wasn't an asshole after all. For now though he had to at least give it a try. If they didn't, Sakura and Sasuke would just be ashamed. But him? The Kyuubi Jinchuuriki? He knew exactly what would happen to him if he didn't become a ninja.

"We still have time?!" Sakura's face lit up as if a heavenly choir descended upon her. It was a strange sight, considering she was as always unsmiling. She immediately firmed up and set a piercing glare upon her team mates. "Then what are we waiting for?!"

Grinning, Naruto closed his fob watch and slipped it back into his breast pocket. He glanced at Sasuke, expecting silent congratulation on his ploy. That was not what he received. Sasuke gave him a look like a wolf would give to one not of his pack. While he didn't like the idea of tricking Sakura, he knew it was necessary. For that reason and that reason alone he was willing to let it slide.

"Do you think you can still get us that opening?" he asked, watching Kakashi again.

"Everything's still in place." Naruto replied with a smirk. "You don't wanna be too close to him when I do it though."

"Fine. After Naruto makes the opening I'll take Kakashi on to keep him busy. Sakura, you're good at fighting in extreme close range, so you aim for the bells while he's dealing with me. If you can manage it Naruto, help me keep his attention off of Sakura. Any problems?"

Naruto and Sakura shook their heads. It was a simple plan they could carry out.

"Uzumaki."

Naruto did a double take at Sakura. That was the first time she'd ever used his name before. And the name she chose to identify him by was Uzumaki? Damn, that was cold. "What should we do?" she asked.

Kakashi was getting far away now, so Naruto spoke fast. "Flank him, keep at a safe distance. You'll know when it's about to happen. When it does, try to stay behind cover, but move the second you see your chance."

Sakura and Sasuke gave affirmed nods. They were ready to move. And so without a moment to spare the three of them took off in separate directions.

Perhaps Kakashi had been too rough with them all. He didn't seriously intend on telling his father that none of them should be allowed into the ranks of ninja. Even if he didn't believe it himself, he couldn't deny the foreboding thoughts of what may become of a Jinchuuriki forbidden from learning advanced ninja techniques as any non ninja was.

It wasn't just Naruto that had his concern though. Blacklisting the son of Fugaku Uchiha would without a doubt have some blowback. Relationships between the Uchiha clan and the rest of the village were still the least stable out of all the other clans. And then there was Sakura. He'd known her mother, if only as a formal acquaintance. A commendable Chunin and a welcoming woman until the day she died. What child of hers wouldn't want to walk in her footsteps?

But it couldn't be helped. They weren't ready. Not yet anyway.

The sound of footsteps running across the grass caught Kakashi's notice. He paused and turned back to see who it was that approached him. Naruto came to a length from Kakashi, wearing perhaps the most ambiguous of expressions the Jonin had ever seen. In his line of work, ambiguous expressions were much more worrisome than the inverse.

Sakura and Sasuke weren't with him. Had they gone home? "If you're still worried, don't be." He decided he could at least be reassuring. "Konoha is stronger than you think. The prosperity of the village isn't hinged on…"

His unfinished sentence concerned Naruto. Getting suspicious now was not what he wanted. Luckily Naruto had already prepared himself mentally and was capable of playing his part to its fullest.

"I'm not here about that." He said, brushing dirt from his clothes with a smooth hand. There was a change in air about him, a grace that did not come naturally, but was by no means poorly exhibited. "I wanted to apologise for my behaviour before. I let myself get carried away and showed a side of me that wasn't appropriate for public presentation." To that end he performed a deep bow with accompanied gesture of the arm. The sense of etiquette was almost perfect, but it was disrupted when Naruto lifted his head and gave Kakashi a wink, along with another accompanying gesture of the hand. "Peace!"

A little confused by the oddity of Naruto's display, Kakashi didn't know what to do. As a result the best he could come up with was to rather feebly raise his hand and return the same v-shaped gesture to Naruto. "Peace?" he replied, feeling thoroughly embarrassed.

It was to this response that Naruto broke out into a grin. He closed his fore and middle finger together, turning a simple and friendly gesture into a hand sign. "Nope!"

Kakashi's further confusion was interrupted by a loud and very local hissing. Startled, he whipped his head around to see a most troubling sight. A ninja tag protruded from a hole in the ground just inches away from his heel. Frightfully, the tag was _not_ the smoke variety.

The coming explosion from the tag was ferocious, but localised. It engulfed him and incinerated the grass beneath his feet, leaving a blackened patch where he once stood. But he was not dead. Though only barely, he had managed to escape the flames unharmed.

"_That was just like before!"_ thought Kakashi as he sailed through the air, shielding his face from the flames he had barely been able to avoid. _"He's capable of breaking free from earth based traps and can lay his own through the ground! If that's not Dotonjutsu, I don't know what-"_

The ninja's sixth sense kicked in as from the thickets of the trees a scythe lashed out at him. He managed to avoid it just before it made a nasty slice through his neck. The scythe flew past with the chain rattling behind Kakashi. His trajectory should have allowed him to get out of the weapon's range from then naturally, but the weapon's wielder didn't allow it. Sasuke burst out from the leaves ahead of Kakashi, pulling sharply on the chain. The scythe was halted from its throw, and came flying back, blade glinting with menace.

Kakashi landed on the ground and though he could have dodged, he didn't. Instead he reached out and grabbed the chain, yanking the scythe himself and to take hold of it. But to his shock he failed to catch the scythe. The reason was that the scythe was no longer there. In its place was the opposite end. The weighted end.

"_He can switch the scythe and the weight around?!"_ was as far as Kakashi could think, before he saw the edge of the blade from the corner of his eye. Given a second more he would be feeling the steel across his throat. Sasuke had gotten the drop on him.

Or that would be the case, if Sasuke was dealing with anyone lesser than Kakashi.

A quick hand grabbed flicked out and stole the scythe from Sasuke's grip, taking it for Kakashi's own. The Jonin twisted around to do as Sasuke had intended on doing to him. The edge of the scythe was almost around Sasuke's neck when it suddenly changed again, the weight taking its place and the scythe finding its way back into Sasuke's hand. Just as the Uchiha was twisting himself to trap Kakashi again.

It was a vicious and near mesmerising dance to watch as the scythe incessantly switched wielders. Sasuke always gripped the chain with a hand forming a single seal and made sure Kakashi could never make a grab at that arm before being forced to defend. It was his skill with the kusarigama that allowed him to hold his own as such against Kakashi, who had only a typical understanding of the weapon.

Alas, as the battle waged on Kakashi inevitably took the advantage. Sasuke expended chakra every time he switched the scythe with the weight. Kakashi had no such drain on his considerably larger reserves of stamina. Eventually… no, before long Kakashi found an opening. He struck Sasuke on the head with the edge of one hand, stunning the Uchiha into dropping his weapon altogether.

The dance, while not exactly mesmerising to an outside spectator, had instilled quite an effect on Kakashi. The franticness of it all had taken him back to the battlefields of his younger days, trapped in combat with much more skilled opponents than he. The split second openings that presented themselves at those times, and the instinct to take advantage of them took over. And before Kakashi knew what he was doing, he was slicing the air with the scythe as it would to Sasuke's neck.

That was when the world itself stopped.

Nothing moved. Not the leaves, not the grass, not even the squirrels. Silence was broken only by one's own drumming heartbeat. No one dare breathed. Everything was still.

Sasuke stood paralysed, the edge of his own scythe mere centimetres from his throat. His whole life had flashed before his eyes in what he feared were his last moments. But now there was nothing but the sight of what was ahead of him and the feeling of Kakashi's body close to his. No, there was something else. A smell. A smell of blood.

Feeling his eyes moving of their own accord, Sasuke's vision was dragged from the trees along to the scythe that nearly took his life, settling on the hand that gripped the weapon so firmly. Or rather... no. He must have been seeing things. But no matter how long he stared, he couldn't help but know what he saw to be true. A second hand held onto the scythe by both the hilt and the blade. A familiar hand, now dripping in blood.

Barely between the two combatants, Sakura had stepped in. Halting the scythe with her own hand, trembling from the pain as her own blood trickled down her arm. Sasuke could do little more than gape at her. Little more, but he managed something else. Just the slightest of utterances.

"Sakura…"

Like Sasuke, Kakashi found himself unable to take his eye off the young girl. She had clearly leapt in to try and take the bells, but upon seeing Sasuke on the verge of decapitation, she had made a swift change of plan and risked losing her own hand to save him. She was lucky. If Kakashi's instincts had taken any more hold over reason, she would have had a bloody stump and Sasuke's throat would have been sliced open. That wasn't the case of course. Kakashi wasn't so out of control as to kill someone over a spar. But Sakura hadn't known that.

Letting the scythe drop from his hand, Kakashi stepped back from the two young ones. Sakura gasped in pain as the blade left her flesh and stained the grass with her blood. The wound wasn't deep, but it needed tending to. Luckily Sasuke was there, already hurrying to help his injured team mate.

His mind was a blur while he ran through the basic first aid all academy students had been taught. Sakura didn't look as Sasuke hastily wrapped a bandage around her hand to stop the flow of blood. All the while he was trying to bring coherence to his chaotic thoughts. _"She got hurt trying to save me!"_ he was unable to maintain that train for long though and was soon on another. _"Damn it Naruto, were where-"_

Having looked up to send Naruto the most vicious glare he'd ever given anyone in his life, Sasuke found what it was that Sakura had opted to look at in place of her bloody hand. He too found himself thoroughly distracted by the sight that lay ahead. Kakashi made three.

Naruto wasn't alone back there. One other person stood behind him, holding a kunai to his neck. A masked Kunoichi of ANBU rank by the look of things. The porcelain depiction of a ferret masked whatever expression may have been on the woman's face, but her actions spoke volumes. Naruto was as white a ghost. He probably hadn't known she was there until it was too late.

"Oh, you're here?" Kakashi called out with a note of surprise. The familiarity in his tone made Sakura and Sasuke look his way for answers, but he had his mind elsewhere. Wearing a slightly nervous smile, he gestured out to the newcomer. "I think you can let him go now."

"What are you saying?" the ANBU Kunoichi demanded, as if the very thought of taking her knife away from Naruto's neck was utterly ridiculous. "I saw what happened. They were angry about being failed and so they decided to attack a Jonin. Civilians who attack military personnel must be arrested. You know that!"

Just as he was starting to recover from the shock of being caught as he was, Naruto flinched at the announcement the ANBU made. It was not uncalled for, as Sakura was quick to prove.

"But we were still within the time limit of our exam!" she cried out. "Hatake-sensei set the timer to go off early on purpose!"

The ANBU was having none of that. "The exam concluded at noon! It is past that time now!"

Sakura froze. As close as Sasuke was he could see how far she had stiffened up. Slowly she lowered her gaze from the ANBU to Naruto, who was pointedly looking out to the trees. Her jaw was clamped shut, but her eyes told the whole story of what she was thinking. If she was the type of girl to swear, Sasuke had no doubt they'd be hearing some very colourful and hateful language right about now.

And just like that everything came crashing back down again. The hope Sakura had built on thinking they still had time was shattered. Sasuke's resolution to carry on was kicked to the curb. And Naruto was left standing there, a bitter expression coming upon him. Kakashi could see all of this from where he stood. They'd all done their best to the very end, but it looked like it would come to nothing. Unless…

"It's noon?" Kakashi repeated, tilting his head to show his confusion. But then he brightened up and hit his palm with his fist. "Oh, that's right! I forgot about Daylight Savings!"

The knife to Naruto's neck dropped slightly as the ANBU Kunoichi gawped in disbelief. Well, that was what he assumed she was doing. Not that he had the attention to spare. All of that was being diverted to Kakashi, just as much as Sasuke and Sakura's were. "What?!" the ANBU demanded.

Kakashi shrugged. "I forgot the clock was supposed to go forward. I thought I set the timer to go off at eleven, but I guess it _is_ noon now huh?" He left the question as a rhetorical one, but clearly by the expressions of present company that was not going to fly. So with a sigh, he explained. "I wanted to adapt the bell test. While it's primary function is still to test the students' capabilities to work together as a team, I thought I could also test how they coped with what seemed like a lost cause. In that regard I think they all did a wonderful job."

Naruto, Sakura and Sasuke all looked at Kakashi, none daring to show optimism for fear that it would be crushed again, but equally being unable to keep it completely away. "So you mean…?" Sasuke couldn't finish the question.

Kakashi smiled at him. "I'd be happy to have you three as my students."


	8. Chapter 8

Really pushing it with the dead line here, but I managed to get it done in time. I quite like this chapter, despite some of the trouble it gave me. Anyway, here you go!

* * *

**A grim prophecy**

Though the day was far from over, in the wake of the most significant task on the newly formed Team 7's schedule being over, there was not much any of them wanted to do but wind down. This was why most of them could be found relaxing in a park in a more urban part of the village. Nearby a waterway offered them peaceful background noise while some clouds obscured the sun and cooled down the day. It would have been perfectly relaxing if not for the slightly intrusive wind.

Sakura and Sasuke sat close together on a bench overlooking the waterway. After a visit to the hospital Sakura's wound was properly cleaned and bandaged, the quality of which showed Sasuke how poor his first aid had been. The doctor had said as much without a note of delicacy, when he wasn't scolding Kakashi that was. Most interesting of all was the fact that the doctor and Sakura were on first name terms. Apparently not all her bandage work was self administered.

Even with a somewhat troubling aftermath however, nothing could bring down the mood that the two of them shared. Sasuke could hardly wipe the smile off his face as he continued to take in the scenery, imagining that his newfound status as a ninja made everything look different now. The truth was he saw no such change, but in some cases self delusion is a perfectly acceptable thing, no?

Sasuke was hardly alone in his elation. Not that any outsider would notice. Sakura was doing as was expected of Sakura. She was checking through her pack with an almost obsessive degree of thoroughness, searching for tools that had been damaged during the test. Her brow was raised in an expression of vague interest while her lips unintentionally pouted at each and every chip or dulled blade. Even so, Sasuke felt he was good enough at reading her to see the glimmer in her eyes that was some vestige of happiness.

He chuckled to himself. Just what would it take to make that girl smile?

"Here you go."

Sasuke and Sakura glanced up as two bottles of iced tea were presented to them by Naruto. Their third team mate had none of Sakura's restraint in showing what he felt on his face. Pleased would have been an understatement had he not been showing an undertone of nervousness. There was little question as to the reason for such unease, when one looked to Sakura.

"Thank you." The new Kunoichi spoke with nothing but the most formal politeness as she accepted the drink from Naruto, before promptly and nonchalantly turning her gaze away from him. While it wasn't right to say she didn't forgive him for deceiving her at the end of the test, she wasn't grateful to him either.

"Thanks." Sasuke said, accepting his iced tea as Naruto passed him.

Dropping into the empty spot next to the Uchiha, Naruto twisted the cap off of his drink and took a quick swig from it. The near frosty tea was as refreshing as it was delicious. A perfect way to loosen up after a victory like today. And yet there was a bittersweet taste in his mouth that was not owed to the tea, though it certainly had those qualities to it.

Today was a cornerstone in the life of Uzumaki Naruto. One of many rungs in the ladder laid upon the wall of the future. The first step on the journey of a thousand miles. And so many other clichés. Yet the day was marked with many failures on his part. Little had gone as he had believed it would, bar the end result. In a way he was glad. What was life without its surprises? But for the most part he felt there were some issues he needed to address if he wanted to feel any real sense of accomplishment.

This decision came with the physiological cue of a sigh that caught the notice of both his team mates. Twisting the lid back on his tea, he set it on the ground and hunched forward to stare at the waterway as it flowed beneath a nearby bridge. "I didn't leave you guys to give you time to sort things out." He confessed.

Sakura and Sasuke, both of whom has their bottles halfway to their lips, paused at Naruto's admission of guilt. Sasuke cast a quick glance to Sakura to silently confirm their thoughts, before turning his eyes ahead and continuing to take a drink from his tea. "You don't say?" he rather flatly asked, not even trying to mask his lack of shock.

The corner of Naruto's mouth twitched into a sardonic smile. Their reaction was of as little surprise to him as his confession was to them.

"Why did you leave then?"

Both Naruto and Sasuke looked at Sakura, who hadn't removed her eyes from Naruto. At first they'd both thought that perhaps she was more taken aback than they realised, but her face proved otherwise. She wasn't looking for an explanation from Naruto. She was looking for honesty.

Naruto dropped his gaze and took a breath. Honesty huh? Well he supposed he owed them that. Not that he felt it would make things any better. "I hoped that you were wrong about the true meaning of the test." He solemnly shared. "I thought if the test really was about the bell and I was the only one to get one, I'd have a Jonin instructor all to myself. I want to say I felt it would make mastering Fuinjutsu easier, but no matter how technically correct that is, I'd be lying if I said it." He held off for a second. "The truth is I didn't want to work with either of you, and jumped at the chance to put the both of you behind me."

Neither Sasuke nor Sakura could manage to continue looking at Naruto after he said that. They both wanted to believe they were angry at his selfishness, but they couldn't even begin to convince themselves there was no hypocrisy in thinking in such a way. Naruto was just the only one willing to say it so openly and without restraint.

It appeared Naruto either didn't know what to say next or didn't have any intentions of continuing on. In any case the silence that followed it was long and unbearably awkward. Sasuke surreptitiously caught Sakura's eye and asked her a silent question with his lips. Sakura was able to read them and after a moment of hesitation she nodded her consent. Her agreement was a little bothersome, because Sasuke didn't actually want to do it. But now he didn't have much of a choice.

"When you left, Sakura and I talked things over." Naruto looked his way. "We both had our own reasons for not wanting to work with each other. I had a long standing grudge against her and she… well…"

"I don't like people." Sakura flatly explained.

Sasuke laughed dryly. "If we're being blunt about it, I didn't want to work with you either. I knew right away when Kakashi accused one of us of having false notions of superiority that he was talking about you. Because that's how you've been acting since you first arrived in this village." Sasuke found himself a little surprised at how much easier it was to say such things against Naruto than it was with Sakura. "I'll bet you have your own reasons for disliking us as well."

At this point both Sakura stiffened up in anticipation of Naruto taking his turn at listing the bad qualities of Sasuke and herself. Though in this case it was less about hearing her flaws called out and more about the one doing the calling out. The idea of Naruto saying anything against her made her feel at least three times angrier than she'd been when it was Sasuke.

"Sorry, I don't have any reasons like that."

Naruto had set his eyes on the skyline, though he could feel the burning stares of his two team mates upon him. There was no way he could get away with saying something like that without explaining himself. It was a shame then that he predicted the explanation doing no better for their feelings toward him.

"When I first got enlisted into the academy, I looked for people I thought might be worth getting to know." He said this more for Sakura's sake, for he had no doubt that Sasuke remembered. "I decided pretty quickly that neither of you were people I wanted to get affiliated with, so I left it at that." With some regret; "I actually worked pretty hard to try and make sure I wasn't teamed with either of you."

Though he doubted its relevance, Sasuke couldn't resist posing the question. "How?"

"I heard that the dead last usually gets grouped with the best student, and I knew from my sensei that only three teams were allowed to graduate. I was sure that if I was one of the top three then I'd get put on the team that had neither of you there to balance out the strongest to weakest ratio. When I found out that I was being teamed with you two_ because_ we were the top three, I wanted to cry in frustration."

Sakura and Sasuke would have been able to forgive Naruto disliking them. They would have forgiven him for wanting to be the only one of the three of them to graduate. But the thought that he not only casually disregarded them, but actively worked to make sure he would never be affiliated with them following such casual disregard was the most offensive thing they'd heard even after their talk with each other.

Allowing himself to fall back on the bench, Naruto tried not to notice the growing resentment pulsating from the other two. "I only agreed to work with you in the end because I realised it was my only chance of graduating." He didn't need to say that. Both his team mates had realised it already. "That was how it was at first anyway."

Sakura blinked and Sasuke looked at Naruto. They were both suspicious of where he was going with this after hearing what he'd had to say so far. "What changed?" Sasuke warily asked.

Naruto glanced and noticed that both his team mates were boring into him with their stares. He didn't like the attention, but he knew it was deserved. To be fair, he was the kind of guy who deserved a lot of things. Few of which were good if he was honest with himself. Honesty was what he was aiming for though, depressing as it was.

"I've lived in a pretty harsh environment most of my life. I don't want to go into it, but my sensei didn't pull any punches in any sense nor spare any expense for my sake. I figured because of that I was made pretty resilient. So when Kakashi told us we failed, I was pretty damn surprised that Sasuke managed to stay strong when I was sure it was all over. Not only that, you reassured me and came up with a good plan to boot."

There was an intermission in his speech then as he looked over to Sakura. Particularly to her bandaged hand. In his silence Sasuke was left feeling a little disjointed. Being complimented by not just another guy, but the same guy who had offended him so was discomforting. He tried to ignore it when Naruto continued.

"More than that was what Sakura did." He lowered his gaze with a melancholy quality to his expression. "I've seen a _lot_ of people get hurt. But I've never seen anyone take a blade for somebody else's sake. I didn't think people were like that. Least of all when it came to someone they didn't like." Despite saying such a grim thing, he was able to smile. "That's why I want to say that I'm sorry for disregarding you like I have. Because to be completely honest, you two are incredible."

It was a pain to have to say such things. He was kicking himself out of his comfort zone by being as open as he was right now. Any other time he would have been completely fine with keeping such things to himself and letting others think whatever the hell they wanted to think. That was the most annoying thing about this team situation. You had to be true to others and true to yourself. At least when the "others" happened to be two people greatly skilled at seeing through bullshit.

For a while Sasuke stared into the rich brown colour of his iced tea, swirling it around and watching the light reflection dance brilliantly around. Though the action appeared offhand, the reality was he was anything but. The only reason he hunched was to hide the awkward reaction his face had chosen to give to Naruto's unrestrained feelings. If there was one thing Sasuke disliked about himself, it was how easily he became touched by things like that.

Worried that this might become obvious, he turned his head away from Naruto to look at Sakura, and immediately found something to grab on to. Whereas he had been able to mask his response decently well, Sakura had opted for more overt and therefore less effective means of hiding herself. This was to look completely away from the two of them with burning red ears.

"Sakura?" his lips curved deviously as he lightly poked Sakura on the shoulder. "It's not polite to turn away from people when they're talking to you!"

"Shut up!" Sakura mumbled, batting his hand away. When it became clear that she wasn't going to be allowed enough time to calm down she reluctantly looked their way, first setting her attention on Naruto.

Naruto couldn't quite believe what he was seeing. The stiff and aggressive girl he'd spent a whole year going toe to toe with was now blushing profusely as if she'd been performing a hand stand when he hadn't been looking. She seemed angry at Naruto for forcing her to go against the image of herself she'd wanted to project. But it was a conflicted anger fought with her face against the glimmer in her eyes that was something not exactly colder, but nowhere near as fierce. The best Naruto could hope to define was that she no longer was looking at him as a mere presence in her proximity. He didn't want to assume what had taken its place, but it felt at least better than that.

It was a lot to read from an expression. Especially since it lasted only as long as it took for Sakura to notice Sasuke's face. To which she indignantly pointed at him. "Your face is the same as mine!" she exclaimed. Sasuke flinched and his face flushed further. Now it was he who refused to turn his head Naruto's way.

Intrigued by this turn of events, Naruto shifted in his seat to more comfortably observe his two suddenly shy comrades. A part of him was confused as to why they were getting worked up over the accolade he had given to them. It was another one of those weird Konoha habits that he'd never personally gotten into during his year at the academy. Another part of him wanted to tease them for that reason. He ignored that part though, knowing it wasn't conducive to what he was trying to accomplish here. Come to think of it, he still _hadn't_ accomplished what he wanted to do.

With a cough he invited Sasuke and Sakura to look at him again, though he could not return the courtesy. It was turn to feel embarrassed, but unlike them he didn't bother to hide it. He did however waver for a moment. "My sensei always told me that worrying about other people just kept you from worrying about yourself."

"… Well he's right." Sakura frowned, wondering why such an obvious thing was being brought up.

"It's true that it's difficult to take care of your own problems and someone else's." Sasuke hastily added in, worried that they were going in the wrong direction. "But that doesn't mean you shouldn't try, _right Sakura?_"

It took Sakura a second to figure out why Sasuke was nudging her, but when she did, she did it with a start. "Oh! Uh… well…" she stammered, not exactly sure of what Sasuke wanted her to say. Then she meekly came up with something. "I suppose if you take the time to get on people's good sides, they'll look out for you when you need help… or something like that.

There was a faint blush on her cheeks when she said that. All the same Sasuke gave her a tiny nod of support to her perspective. They needed to shut out their own outdated ideas and try to reach a realm of thinking that all three of them could accept. Isolating was not beneficial to such an effort.

"He also said that women are nothing but fantasists with big ideas, and they should just face their own reality."

The sudden throbbing of a vein in Sakura's temple led Sasuke to feel rather crestfallen. Why Naruto? Why on earth would you ever bring something like that up in any situation?! He thought to say as much when he turned to his male team mate, but he was halted by the strange look on Naruto's face. It was something between tranquillity and irritation.

"It's because he said stupid things like that that I've always measured myself as a man by acting as unlike him as possible." He settled into a reclined position and continued observing the scenery. "I don't want to be such a shrewd and untrusting guy like him. But it ain't easy." He scoffed at himself a little. "I'm getting sick of me and my problems." Then out of nowhere he flashed a grin at Sakura. "Ever need a shoulder to cry on Kega-chan, I'm all-"

In a heartbeat Sakura threw her bottle of iced tea as forcefully yet at the same time passively as she could possibly manage, maintaining a perfectly disinterested expression even during an act of violence. With equal swiftness however Sasuke caught the bottle out of the air before it could smack Naruto in the face.

"If that's the case then maybe you shouldn't poke fun at your team mate." Sasuke gave Naruto a cool yet firm look, passing the bottle back to Sakura. Stern though he was then, he was able to give a more earnest kind of smirk. "That aside, I don't think either of us mind counting on you, so long as you keep in mind to count on us. Right Sakura?"

It was clear that Sakura was contemplating taking another swing at Naruto by the way she bounced her bottle thoughtfully in her hand. Just as Sasuke started to think she was about to do it, she put the bottle down and said with an offhand gesture. "I don't have any intention of making a poor show of myself, so I expect the same from you." She then added with a touch of frost. "If I see a knife flying at your back, I'll try to let you know."

The two males gave her a short laugh and soon the atmosphere was as relaxed as it had been while Naruto was away. But he wasn't away now. He was right there, next to his two team mates, relaxing after a tough trial and enjoying a pleasant if windy day. If they weren't such a mismatched trio… actually, because they were so mismatched, anyone looking in would have been forgiven for thinking they were friends. How else would such a strange group come together like that?

A time of silence passed by as the three Genin tried to finish their drinks before they got too warm. The lack of conversation was awkward to all of them, but at the same time not one of them felt like there was anything that needed to be said. It was a feeling as alien as it was welcome, like stepping into a mud bath for the first time and finding it to be not so bad at all.

Eventually though someone had to break the tranquillity. That someone it seemed was Naruto. The well dressed yet markedly more dirty member of Team Seven rose to his feet with a satisfied exhale, earning the eyes of the other two still seated. "Going somewhere?" Sakura asked, unsure of the social conventions about one leaving from a group gathering.

Naruto offered them a crooked smile. "I don't know if either of you have noticed, but we could all use a shower." He remarked, pulling at his dirty shirt to demonstrate. "After that I have to drop by Yamanaka Flowers before Ino-chan gets back."

There was a second of hesitance in Sasuke's expression as he considered asking something, but he didn't want to put it off now that the topic had been raised. "If it's not too intrusive, there's something I've been curious about." He tried not to sound like he cared too much. "Are you and Ino… together?"

As soon as that question was raised Naruto and Sakura's brows shot up in surprise. While the latter mimicked Sasuke's fake nonchalance Naruto was left the subject of both their gazes. Feeling rather uncomfortable, he turned away and tried not to think about it too hard.

After a little thought he found himself feeling a lot more pensive. "I've been putting an unfair amount of pressure on her for a while now." he loosely explained. "It doesn't sit right with me anymore. I gotta go fix things, for my sake as much as hers."

With that he gave them both a wave and headed off down the street. Sasuke's dissatisfaction with Naruto's evasive answer was equal to his level of interest in what he _had_ been able to learn. Naruto had no reason to be vague about his relationship with Ino. And yet the idea of Ino going as far as to lead Naruto into thinking they had an intimate relationship was just as implausible as Naruto falling for it. The guy was shrewder even than Sakura. He had flat out confessed his manipulative intentions. So why then would he fail to answer such a question… unless the relationship between Ino and him really _was_ private?

If that was the case, Sasuke had to wonder. Who was Ino really cooperating with? Himself and her clan… or Naruto?

* * *

Yamanaka Inoichi was a natural manager. It was strange to say, but despite being raised on the values of Yamanaka tradition and trained to the standard one would want of a clan head, he had only taken what his father had taught him under advisement. When the time came that he took the title of Yamanaka clan head, many changes came to what was in all fairness already a fairly progressive clan for its time. As a result of this a lot of gossip in regards to Inoichi arose.

"I hear you're popular among the ladies."

Inoichi resisted rolling his eyes as he settled down into one of the chairs in the small café within Yamanaka Flowers. The store was no simple flower shop. It was also a chemist, a gardening supply store and, among other things, a retailer of home made teas and other such produce. The café was just a corner of the deceptively large store, and possessed the perfect ambiance for the level of meeting he was now participating in.

"It's true that many more clanless Kunoichi wish to marry into the Yamanaka than they did while my forefathers headed the clan." Inoichi had given this explanation so many times he was beyond tired with it, but he kept up the pretence for the sake of present company. "It was normal in the past that married Kunoichi retire for the sake of child rearing. But the reasons you've heard are not mine. I simply made a rule that ninja of the Yamanaka work in the store under a rotational schedule, allowing for those who have worked hard in the field to recuperate without being unproductive."

With a toothpick loosely hanging from his teeth, Naruto occupied the seat opposite Inoichi. Bringing the clan head of the Yamanaka all the way down here had proven to be a time consuming task, as none of the store clerks were willing to just call Inoichi out because Naruto told them to. It had taken a little careful word choice, but Naruto had successfully managed to put the notions of "Kyuubi Jinchuuriki" and "Confidant of the clan heiress" out there. After that things went pretty smoothly.

That was how a busy man like Yamanaka Inoichi had come to take time out of his schedule to talk to a boy who had only just earned the title of Genin. Naruto had heard a few things of Inoichi from Ino, but he'd known better than to assume of a man's personality based on his child's perception of him. As it turned out he was not wrong to think as such. Under present circumstances Inoichi in no way looked like the "overgrown teenager" Ino claimed him to be.

"I understand you've done very well for yourself in your short time here." Inoichi said, shaking his head to the café worker who had come over to take their orders. "Ino told me that you reached third rank with apparent ease. It sounds like you could have aimed higher, but restrained yourself."

A bashful grin came upon Naruto as he waved away Inoichi's implication. "It's not like that! I'm just better at studying on my own than in the classroom." he slung his arm over the back of the chair and looked more relaxed than he ought to have been, considering the efforts he went to in order to make this meet happen. "But I didn't want to get caught up in the competition between the first and second rank students, so I stayed out of their way."

Inoichi let out a faint hum. Neither was honestly all that interested in the subjects they enquired about. The small talk was simply for the purpose of getting to know how the other person thought and acted. Getting a feel for one another. Since what he heard from the boy himself didn't mesh with what Ino had told him, Inoichi was tempted to continue this phase on for a while longer. However he had his duties to attend to.

"May I ask why it was you called me out here?" Inoichi queried, sitting back and fixing himself on Naruto's eyes, reading him ceaselessly. "I hope you're not here to ask for Ino's hand in marriage."

Another test to see how he'd react, Naruto noticed. He gave the Yamanaka clan head a grin and made himself as comfortable as he could be. "We're not that close _yet_." He responded. He had to respect the lack of response from Inoichi, but he knew that had to rub the clan head the wrong way. "But it is Ino-chan I came here to talk about. Well, she's involved anyway."

Inoichi cocked a curious brow, but aside from that his expression was unchanging. "Go on then."

Naruto thought about how he wanted to play this situation out. He could go for the butler persona and be on the surface polite, yet carry the undertones he had no doubt Inoichi would catch. Or he could go for the more overt route and directly speak of that which brought him here. Both had their merits, but in the end Naruto had to pick the one that was truer to the nature of the discussion.

"Y'know, there's a lot I can say about Ino-chan." Said the bandit formerly associated with the gang known as the Chain Breakers. "She's cool, witty and one of the prettiest girls I've ever met. But a spy she ain't." A sharp gleam in his eyes. "I'm here to tell you that I got no intentions of telling her anythin' if I think it's gonna get passed on to you. So you can go ahead and tell her to quit pretending."

What started off as a very calm and pleasant tone soon descended into a snide and rather harsh tenor. A severe and harsh look replaced what had been a cool smile not seconds ago as pretence came crashing down. Inoichi looked down his nose at Naruto, resisting the urge to broadcast his own emotions with such little inhibition as Naruto displayed.

Deniability was a good thing to have, but Inoichi had no desire to play the fool with Naruto. Dismissively he placed his hands on the table and rose to his feet. "If that's all you came to say…"

"It's not."

Inoichi stopped and returned to performing a stern analysis on Naruto. The conviction was clear to see, but the motive wasn't. Under typical circumstances Inoichi would have left by now. But then again, under typical circumstances he would never have come out here in the first place.

"I said I won't tell Ino anything if it's just gonna get passed on to you." Naruto continued, never taking his eyes off of Inoichi's. "Doesn't mean I'm not willing to cooperate. So long as you be a man about it."

The jab at Inoichi's pride was completely ineffective, but the point was made clear regardless. If Inoichi wanted to get his hands on the information he sought, he had to do it on Naruto's terms. Thankfully, those terms were far more reasonable than Inoichi had expected from the boy with the notoriously vague background.

"Very well." he responded, sitting himself back down at the table. Making sure to lean close enough that they could speak without worrying too much about eavesdroppers, Inoichi ushered Naruto towards that which he desired. "Then if I ask you for details regarding your life before coming to Konoha, you will comply?"

Disliking the ambiguity of that question, Naruto cleared things up. "Within reason. I'm not gonna answer anything I think is gonna get someone I grew up with killed. I might not come from the most socially acceptable environment, but that doesn't mean I don't have standards."

Their private bubble was interrupted by a pair of shoppers that wandered in, headed for the café for a drink. Naruto and Inoichi remained silent while the elderly couple purchased some bags of tea and headed on their merry way, leaving the experienced and inexperienced ninjas to themselves again. It was when they were well out of earshot that Inoichi spoke.

"Let's take this elsewhere."

* * *

"Forgive my suspicions, but as far as I can see there are a few possibilities open here." Inoichi stood in front a window partially shaded by blinds. "I don't wish to insult you, so please be understanding when I say there is a very real possibility that you are a threat to the Yamanaka and perhaps even the village."

The elsewhere Inoichi referred to was his office behind the flower store, looking out into a long line of greenhouses. The office was very well ventilated to compensate for what would otherwise be stifling heat, considering the nature of the plants out there. Naruto was seated opposite the store manager's desk, where his posture and his expression were polar opposites. His body was much more relaxed than his face was.

"No sense defending myself." There was some sourness in his voice, but he wasn't overly sensitive about it. "I doubt a ninja village lasts very long without a healthy dose of paranoia."

To that Inoichi could do nothing less than agree. He turned around and sat down in his chair, giving a clearer and more focused expression than he had in the café. "As a fellow Konoha Shinobi, you and I can now be considered comrades. I respect my comrades. I only raised the point to make one thing clear. That if you are an enemy of the village, it will make no difference that you know this. But if you are with us as I expect you are, then there's really no way of avoiding this. My concern is only in whether or not you are willing to answer my line of questioning."

Heh. What a waste of words. Even after a year among them, Naruto couldn't get used to how needlessly gracious a lot of the people were. "I guess we'll find out."

Inoichi linked his fingers together in an age hold habit of an interrogator as he was. Years of experience had already told him much about the manners of the boy in front of him. He did not need caution when dealing with the likes of Naruto. "I'll cut to the chase then." He masked an anger that would have gripped Naruto had it not been in check. "Thirteen years ago vital scrolls were stolen from the Yamanaka. The one who stole them was also your caretaker."

And just like that Naruto was taking this whole situation a lot more seriously. That said, he continued to wear a semblance of a smile as he gave Inoichi a combination of a puzzled, bemused and uneasy expression. "Really?" in spite of himself, a grin crept on his face. "How the hell did the bastard pull that one off?"

Inoichi did not share Naruto's amusement. As a matter of fact, the question only soured his expression further. "The bastard, as you put it, was close to my younger sister. Very close."

There was a change in the air and an odd implication in Inoichi's stare that Naruto didn't like. _"Is he comparing sensei's relationship with his sister to my relationship with Ino-chan?"_ If that were the case, then this meeting was not going to go as Naruto hoped.

"My sister was training in some of the advanced techniques of our clan at the time. For that purpose I had allowed her access to a few of the scrolls containing the details on our hidenjutsu. These were in her possession when tragedy struck this village thirteen years ago."

Just like that, the air seemed to change. This time it was not because of Inoichi. The smile slipped of Naruto's face as it took on its own bitterness. He slouched forward on the desk and gave the Yamanaka head every bit as intense a stare as was being delivered to him. "Go on."

"My sister was unfortunately killed by that tragedy." Sadness mingled with the other slight inflections carried with Inoichi's voice. But the steely quality never left. Nor did it weaken in the least. "You may understand that in the aftermath I was not as sharp as I should have been. With so much to do by way of repairing the village and accounting for all of those who died, the scrolls had slipped my mind. By the time I found out they were missing, you and your caretaker had dropped off the face of the world completely."

There was no need to elaborate any further than that. Naruto had his suspicions about what Inoichi was so curious about, but those were now put to rest. "That sounds like more than just some minor issue. But what I don't understand is why it took me coming here myself to find out any of this. I was grilled 'til I was nice and crispy, but no one asked me anything like that. Sounds like a hell of a thing to keep under your hat."

Inoichi gave an agreeable nod. "I raised the issue with Hokage-sama, but he asked me not to pursue the matter at the time. He believed that there was only so much pressure you could take, and the fact was that in twelve years any purpose your caretaker had for those scrolls was bound to have been met by now. More likely than not the damage had been done."

"Then why pursue it at all?"

Naruto was taking in the news better than Inoichi had expected. Then again, perhaps there was no surprise to be had in criminal activity when one was raised among a group of criminals. It was one of those things that made Inoichi want to pick Naruto's brain, if not for the pressing circumstances. "The truth is there's only one matter worth investigating as of now." There was a brief pause. "I need to know if that man taught _you_ any of the Yamanaka's clan techniques."

For that Naruto sat back and gave some careful thought. Everything was making sense now. Of course Inoichi would want an eye on Naruto. The possibility that Naruto could spread Yamanaka secrets around was as real as his capacities for doing something about it. Little by little he was feeling less hostility as he understood the Yamanaka head's dilemma all the more. But there was just one problem.

"My sensei wasn't the type of guy to give lectures. He was more the "shut up and do what I say" sort. Sorry, but I got no way of knowing if some of my techniques come from the Yamanaka or not."

That was as much the sort of response Inoichi had expected. It was also one he was ready for. "The Yamanaka prefer to utilise our own unique hand seals when utilising our hidenjutsu." He started to demonstrate, but stopped himself quickly. "All I need to know is whether or not you possess any techniques that require the use of hand seals not among the twelve standard seals."

A fair enquiry. Simply displaying a non-standard hand sign was not enough to give away a hidenjutsu, but it was an indicator of what that hidenjutsu was. Showing Inoichi something like that would likely not give away any of Naruto's secrets. To that end, he found himself willing to help the old guy out here.

"I'm not in the habit of showing off my moves when they're not needed." Despite saying that, he pushed his seat back to give Inoichi a much better view of him. "That said, I do know a seal like that. And I have a technique that I don't mind my comrades knowing about. Just so long as I can be sure they're the kind of people I can trust not to spy on me."

Unlike his earlier jab, that one reached Inoichi. "I apologise for intruding on your privacy." He gave a concessionary gesture with his hands. "Should Ino pry into your private life after today, that will be by her own hands. As a father of a teenage girl, I can only ask her not to stick her nose in any further. I hope you understand."

It wasn't the perfect response Naruto was looking for, but he didn't ask for any more. With that matter taken care of he looked down at his hands and concentrated. The truth was in light of what he'd just learned about his sensei's actions, he was anxious about using this technique now. He'd never had any doubts towards his sensei's willingness to deceive. He could just hope that in this case he had not been lied to.

Forming chakra is a tricky task, when one is in an inactive state. Your physical energy is at a low and as such there is an imbalance between the two energies. It's not a huge hindrance, but it does require a second or two more preparation than in the field. When that preparation was done, Naruto formed the seal he had been referring to.

Inoichi's brow furrowed at the shape Naruto's hands made when they came together. There was no doubt about it; they were recognisable. He kept his reservations however until the technique Naruto was about to perform was underway. For that purpose he tapped into his abilities as a sensor nin and studied Naruto from a perspective unavailable to most Shinobi.

It happened like a heartbeat, and Inoichi witnessed it all. Naruto's chakra flowed through his hands and circulated back through his body, creating a stable form from each and every one of the chakra points inside of him. Then, when everything was ready, he released all of that chakra in a single, soundless wave. Under Inoichi's years of experience, the effects were as visible as mist.

It was a quick technique. The chakra reached out to every point in the room within a single second. Inoichi witnessed the chakra as it hit his desk, yet was not impeded by it. Like a ghostly apparition it passed through solid matter without losing any of its speed. It fell over Inoichi and would supposedly pass through him to. But it didn't. Unlike everything else in the room, the chakra seemed to stick to his body, just like the moisture in his mist simile. And then, with that, Naruto opened his eyes.

"So? Is that Yamanaka or not?"

There was no swift answer to that, simply because Inoichi was too busy marvelling at the effects of Naruto's technique. He looked upon himself, witnessing the chakra that was slowly starting to dissipate. By rough calculation it would remain for another ten seconds before it was gone completely.

"_The chakra seeks out entities that also have chakra and clings to them, allowing him to sense whatever is touched by it for a short duration."_ The only imperfection he could see was that only his front side was hit by this chakra, though that was hardly a major flaw. _"A technique that combines barrier jutsu and space/time jutsu to ultimately create a sensory technique."_ A nostalgic smile came upon him. _"The Uzumaki clan were truly amazing."_

"Do you know the name of that jutsu?" he asked, finally returning his attention to Naruto.

Naruto shook his head. Not every technique his sensei taught him could be found in the Uzumaki Dossier. It was the reason for his concern as to the true origin of the technique.

"It's known as the Sonar Jutsu. It was the Uzumaki clan's answer to the Hyuga's Byakugan, and was highly respected in the past." Inoichi sat back, looking quite relieved. "As for that seal, it's known as the "Crab". I don't know much about it, but I do know that even amongst unusual seals it holds a high grade because only those with the right kind of chakra signature can even make use of it. Meaning members of the Uzumaki."

Though Naruto searched Inoichi's face, his mind was elsewhere. He'd known the name of the hand sign, but nothing more than that. The Crab seal was unique to the Uzumaki clan, so said Inoichi. It was an interesting piece of information, but what was more relieving was knowing that his sensei had not lied to him about his techniques. Despite all appearances, his training had been tough on a physical and psychological level. If he ever found out he had been deceived about the nature of his techniques, not even his sensei would be forgiven.

"I believe what you said." Inoichi brought Naruto back to the room by rising to his feet. "You haven't been taught any of the Yamanaka clan's techniques. I thank you for your cooperation and apologise again for any trouble I have caused you."

Naruto was pensive for a moment. Had he not learned the titbit about the Uzumaki here, he wasn't sure he would be able to conclude this visit on a positive note. But in a way chance had rewarded him for trying to do right by Ino. Something told him that pettiness would only hurt his karmic balance. "Don't worry about it." he too got to his feet and shook Inoichi's outstretched hand. "If it were me in your shoes, I'd probably be way more intrusive."

For that Inoichi could give a laugh. He led Naruto towards the door, but remained inside as the newly appointed Genin stepped out of it. "It may be sad to say, but now that you and Ino have your own teams I imagine you'll both be heading down your own separate paths from now on." there was a touch of regret in his smile that didn't seem completely sincere.

Naruto didn't share Inoichi's sentiment. In fact he found the statement to be rather odd. "Our schedules might conflict, but I don't think that's going to be too big a problem." A smirk drew across his face, relishing in what he thought he was about to put in Inoichi's head. "But it would take a lot more than that to keep me away from Ino-chan." He then turned away with a wave. "You never know. I might be calling you dad one day."

Naruto left Inoichi with that disturbing notion, whistling to himself a merry little tune.

* * *

It was a classic rule of being a ninja that one should be ready to sacrifice their lives for the sake of their comrades, their village and their country. Iwagakure was one of the sternest villages to follow this rule. Cowardice was punished severely among those in the Rock Village. But as much as they persecuted those who valued their own lives above all else, they honoured the dead to an even higher degree.

While Konoha did not go to such extreme lengths in that regard, one could not accuse it of showing no respect to the ones who passed away while doing their duty. Within the village, to the east by north east side, there was a cemetery where Konoha's greatest heroes were either put to rest or, in the event that no body could be buried, were given a memorial. Many names could be found on the tombstones that filled this cemetery. Of course this included the deceased Hokage.

Getting directions to this place hadn't taken Naruto very long. In fact he earned some incredulous looks in asking, for everyone saw the Konoha insignia upon his belt. How could a ninja who had attended Konoha's academy managed not to visit such a place? The answer was simple, but Naruto didn't give it. When he had the information he needed, he headed there right away.

The red gate that stood over the entrance to the cemetery was the first of many treats to the eye Naruto came across as he walked inside the burial grounds. Even before entering the place he could see that there many "honoured heroes" among Konoha's dead. So many so that Naruto wondered if perhaps the village played rather loosely with the term. Well, that was a line of questioning he knew he'd keep to himself. He didn't need to upset anyone over it.

Strolling through the cemetery, Naruto was at a bit of a loss to the degree of grandeur that was on display. Statues of lions guarded the fences and each staircase was headed by another red gate. Apparently there was a hierarchy of honour, but Naruto wondered just who the statues, gates, polished fences and other such pretty things were really for. The dead couldn't appreciate them. To Naruto it sounded like an expensive way of telling the loved ones of the deceased that they still remembered those heroes had existed. Another thought he didn't need to upset anyone with, he reckoned.

It took a minute before he reached the final set of stairs. The one that would lead him to the place where the highest of honours were given. The burial grounds of the Shodai, Nidaime and Yondaime Hokage, and their spouses of course. Despite having come this far without any hesitation, it was here that Naruto came to a stop. He stared at the top of the stairs; the grounds above beyond his line of sight. A large part of him wanted to turn back and forget about the whole deal. But there was a smaller part, lurking inside of him, that dared him to quit. That was enough to usher him forward.

He wasn't sure what it was that had brought him here in the first place. In the whole year that he'd been a resident of Konoha he'd never once considered even asking where such a place was. Visiting it certainly had never occurred to him. He supposed that with the giant face of the Yondaime Hokage looming over the village, he'd never needed to know such a thing. That had changed now though. He was no longer content with looking at a stone effigy carved into a mountain.

When Naruto's foot came down on the final step, he halted. He had now reached the burial grounds of the past Hokage. The broad expanse of unused land was a testament to the village's optimism. It expected to survive for many more generations than it already had. But open grass wasn't enough to stop him in his tracks. With a pang of annoyance he found that he was not the only one here.

There was an old man standing at the memorial which acted as the centrepiece to this part of the cemetery. By the look of things he had come here to speak with the past leaders of the village. It was a perfectly normal thing to do. Even Naruto with his feelings towards the dead couldn't fault the old guy for wanting to do such a thing. It was sort of the reason he had come here himself. And he knew that just as much as he wanted some privacy, so too did this old man. For that, Naruto was left awkwardly wondering what he should do.

Just as Naruto was about to turn away to let the old guy have his moment, the old guy noticed his presence and looked back at him. Their eyes met and Naruto found himself feeling suddenly confused. There was something about the old man that struck a chord in his memory. He knew that face from somewhere. And then it hit him. It was the same face that was wedged between the face of the Nidaime and Yondaime Hokage.

This guy was the Sandaime.

"You must be Uzumaki Naruto."

Naruto could feel his options draining away with the expectant way the Sarutobi Hiruzen held himself. Annoying social protocols dictated that upon being greeted he had to in turn respond. He would have blown the old guy off otherwise. Discontented by the turn of events, he approached Sarutobi, unconsciously trying to make the thing in his hand as barely discernible as possible. Not that it made a difference.

Sarutobi returned to staring at the memorial stone while Naruto moved to join him. At the base of the stone was a plaque engraved with the names of each of the deceased Hokage in order, with their spouses' names carved in beside them. The memorial was there so that people could pay their respects to each of the Hokage at the same time. It was considered rude to visit each individual grave unless you had a personal relationship with any of them. But for Sarutobi, this was a fine way to greet his predecessors and his successor all at once.

Naruto followed the old man's gaze and found the plaque himself. On either side sticks of incense were burning, lifting a smell into the air Naruto wasn't familiar with. There was something about the plaque that drew his attention. On the left were the names of the Hokage, and on the right where their wives'. As hard as it was to ignore the fourth row, Naruto forced himself to look at the strangeness of the third. The left column that would be the Sandaime's was blank. The right however, was not.

Sarutobi Biwako.

Looking at the name, Naruto felt his selfish desires ebb away with a pang of regret. He felt guilty for his annoyance at Sarutobi, now that he knew the guy was visiting his own wife's grave. His eyes were drawn further on to the date out of curiosity for how long she'd lived. When he saw the date of her death, he shut his eyes tight. He didn't have to ask what happened. The answer was inside of him.

"… Sorry. I'll leave you be."

Sarutobi put a firm hand on Naruto's shoulder, stopping him from departing. Though not easy, Naruto looked up to the widower. The old man hadn't taken his eyes off the plaque, nor lost the sad smile on his lips. For a while it didn't seem like he was going to say anything. But he didn't let Naruto go either. Eventually Naruto relented and turned back to the memorial. That was when Sarutobi's hand slid away.

"When you become as old as me, you start to realise some things that would never occur to you in your younger days." Sarutobi spoke with an almost forlorn wistfulness. Yet the look of peace on his face remained. "Take love. No matter how fiercely you love someone, in time you will grow as accustomed to that sensation as any other. Eventually you will barely be able to tell that it's there." A deep and sorrowful sigh. "And then when it's taken from you, you realise just how much of your life it filled. It leaves a gaping hole that few can ever hope to fill again."

Being not even old enough to be called a man, Naruto had no way of weighing into such a concept with his meagre experiences. The only thing that seemed right to do was to stand there quietly and listen to the old man say what he wanted to say. Given the circumstances, it felt only right.

"Though I'd love to have my wife beside me again, I don't hate the emptiness that's been left in her wake." Sarutobi surprised Naruto into looking at him. "It's a reminder that I've lived a long and happy life. I've fathered my children, played with my grandchildren and handed the mantle of Hokage on to someone I can trust. I can't say that I live with no regrets. But all things considered, I am content."

The former Sandaime's optimism was quite a thing to witness. Naruto had to hand it to the old guy. He sure knew how to put a positive spin onto something that could bring others over the brink of despair. He didn't a think a ninja could live that long and manage to find peace with himself like that. It wasn't how he had been trained to think.

"I know this village may seem small to you, but I hope you can find your happiness here." The old man turned away, but not before giving Naruto another heartfelt smile. "Though things didn't go as planned, there is no one in this village who bears you any ill will. They will accept you as readily as you would accept them."

Sarutobi left at that, taking a pleasant stride towards the stairs that would descend down to the exit. Naruto watched him every step of the way, neither the two of them bidding the other farewell. It was a short while before Sarutobi was out of sight. But even then Naruto continued to watch, mulling over the well wishes that had been offered to him.

"He's a sweet guy. I hope for his sake he doesn't stick around for too much longer." The sun made Naruto features sink a little, turning a simple smile into something longer, thinner and more unnerving. "Let him have his good memories before he dies, right?"

Naturally the stone edifice offered him no response.

"Silent treatment eh? Well screw you too." He gave a dry laugh, and then moved away from the memorial. "This has been fun, but I don't like talking on a group line. No eavesdropping, got it?"

It wasn't difficult to find the graves he was looking for. There were hardly many to lose himself in. In just a few seconds he found himself standing before two tombstones bearing two names. One was in honour of the Yondaime Hokage; Namikaze Minato. And by its side, kept in equally pristine condition, was a tombstone bearing the name Uzumaki Kushina.

Standing here for the first time in his life, Naruto was deeply discontented. The awareness that the remains of his parents laid before him was deeply troubling. He lifted his arm to his shoulder and lightly tapped a bouquet of white lilies against it, the rhythm doing _something_ to drown out his thoughts. It stopped working fast though, so Naruto dropped the flowers in front of his mother's grave to get them out of the way.

"I never thought I'd be standing here. Never thought I'd be living in Konoha as a ninja. Then again I don't really enjoy thinking about the future. What's there to look forward to right? I either die for being a Konoha ninja or die for being a Jinchuuriki. I could say that you guys set me up with a real challenge. But I'm not that optimistic."

Bitterness led Naruto to look away. Doing so however brought him to see a great view of the village from atop the hill which the cemetery stood. He could see as far as the academy and the main street from here. Of course, a good view for the dead.

"The thing is, I _get it_. I know I'm not more important than a whole village. I know that somebody had to carry the fox's burden, and if you couldn't do it to your own kid, who could you ask to do it to theirs?" a dark feeling settled in the pit of his gut. "I was basically doomed from the moment I was conceived."

A cool wind stirred and brushed against his hot skin. He embraced the relaxing touch of it and allowed his anger to leave him. But though the anger was gone, something remained. That much could be seen just by looking at him.

"That's not true. I do have an option. A way out of this situation." He turned hunched over to bring himself closer to the two graves, allowing them to see a placid, yet glassy smile. "I think I've been a good enough host these past thirteen years, but as it turns out I'm just not as accommodating as I pretend to be." There was an icy glint in his keen eyes. "As soon as I figure out a way to do it without killing myself, I'm getting this thing out of my body. Not just that. I'm going to make sure no one can seal him ever again."

Again, and of course, there was silence from the graves. Naruto liked to think that if the spirits of his parents really were listening in right now, they were every bit as quiet from what he had just imparted. Straightening up, he turned his back on the graves and regarded the village once more.

"As for what he does with his freedom… well that's up to him. I won't be here for whatever he decides to do, so I don't care what happens."

The wind ceased and the air settled into a stillness unlike the stillness of before. Now more than ever it felt to Naruto that there was nothing here but himself and a bunch or rather pretty looking rocks. It bothered him in a way. Made him feel foolish for all the effort he had gone to. Irritated, he walked away from the graves of his parents and started to head-

He stopped in his tracks. Something sudden and unexpected happened. A cold, wet feeling on his cheek. Bewildered, he touched his face and looked at his fingers. It was water, undoubtedly. But from where?

No sooner had the question come to mind did his eyes gaze at the sky. It was hard to believe, but the sunny day was being disrupted by grey clouds that seemed to come from nowhere. Rain began to fall, landing on Naruto in a soft downpour. It darkened his shirt and made his hair hang heavily before his eyes. In no time at all he found himself soaked to the skin. But he was in no hurry to move. A sad smile stretched across his lips.

Maybe someone was listening after all.


	9. Chapter 9

Sorry for the obscene lateness on this chapter. A number of things got in the way. Complete scrapping of the first draft, sudden inspiration for other stories, the holiday season, yadda yadda yadda. Anyway, it's here now and as always I hope you'll enjoy the fruits of my labours! Oh, and as you'll no doubt have noticed the story has taken a change in name. After numerous messages that the name sounded silly, I thought I'd give it a change to see if that improved anything. Please let me know what you think of it.

* * *

**Making Waves**

A month had passed since the Genin graduation exam, and with it came a busy time within Konoha. You see, even amidst the ranks of Genin, Chunin and Jonin there were further sub ranks when it came to missions. If a client paid for a D rank mission, they would get a team consisting of Genin with a Jonin sensei watching over them. But even to that degree, the specific amount that was paid helped to decide just how experienced or capable said Genin team would be. To summarise, the end of the Graduation exam period was the perfect time for civilians of the village to pay cheaply for tasks of lesser importance. A system that benefitted everyone. Or at least, that was the claim.

Team Seven were situated in an unusual environment for their afternoon training, a large sports hall that was closed for the day, having just concluded three consecutive D-rank missions. They weren't sure if it was exclusive to them, or simply an indicator of just how many missions came in during the "Rookie Period" as it was called, but their work load had been consistently high from the very beginning. By now they were getting used to it, but it didn't stop them feeling tired even before their training began.

"Retiling roofs, weeding gardens, babysitting... this wasn't what I was expecting when I got here." Naruto grumbled to himself as he set about his personal training. Kakashi had acquired for him an odd pen that delivered electric shocks via a ball bearing system to help Naruto learn to keep a steady hand and improve his penmanship so that proper training in Fuinjutsu could begin. This wasn't his sole training since becoming a Genin, but his homework did consist of mostly this. "Aren't we putting roofers, gardeners and babysitters out of their jobs?"

"Hm... no." Kakashi had most of his attention on Sasuke, who out of the three was the only one whose training could be described as "dangerous". Kakashi was throwing stones from a bucket at his student, each throw always in threes and always calculated so that if Sasuke moved too much to avoid one he'd get hit by another. The purpose being to train both his reflexes and minimalist movements towards hopefully attaining the Uchiha's legendary Sharingan. "The main benefit of Genin teams is quick availability and reassurance of capability. We don't ever claim to be masters of whatever craft we're hired for when it comes to D-ranks. We just take care of emergencies."

Begrudgingly satisfied by that explanation, Naruto returned to his task of copying words and their full definitions from the largest dictionary Kakashi could get his hands on. His current combo, as he liked to put it, was one hundred and thirty seven words and their according definitions, including sub definitions for varying contexts as with words like "entrance". If he could make it all the way up to two hundred, his training in penmanship would be certainly complete.

The team carried on its training in relative silence for a long time after that. It wasn't until Kakashi ran out of stones in his bucket that he finally broke the quiet and gave his wrist a rest. "Alright, gather up the stones and then you can take a rest." Tossing the plastic bucket to Sasuke, Kakashi left him to it and went to investigate how his third student was doing.

Sakura was absolutely engrossed in her current task, and with good reason. For Naruto and Sasuke, their training had comprised of improving their base skills to the point where they could move on to further training. This wasn't the case for Sakura however. Her skills in every area of the academy itinerary was flawless, but that was just the problem. Sasuke had been taught the Uchiha clan's fire jutsu and Naruto had proven that he possessed advanced techniques he wasn't willing to share just yet. Therefore despite being able to take on either of her team mates in one on one combat, her abilities were limited to the tools at her disposal. To that end, Kakashi had given her _very_ good tools.

Crouching down in front of her, Kakashi watched as she carefully took apart, cleaned and ran overall maintenance on tools she had been practicing long and hard with. He could see just from a glance that the tools which had been in pristine condition when given to her were now very familiar to her. Still, he wouldn't be doing his job if he didn't make absolutely sure she knew what she was dealing with. "Let's have a review, shall we?" he suggested when Sakura finished putting her last tool together again "Tell me what you've learned."

"Dust Box." Sakura began at a heartbeat, picking up one of her tools and showing it to Kakashi. It was a small polished container with two holes on either side; one slightly filtered and the other protruding. On the protruding end Sakura fitted a thin rubber pipe that was around a meter in length. "It's used to blind enemies with ground glass contained in these black eggs." she picked up one such painted egg to display. "Put the egg in the box, press the switch on top of the box to break the egg and then use the pipe hidden the sleeve to blow into and scatter the glass into the enemy's face. The eggs can also be used by hand if need be."

Kakashi nodded his approval. "What's next?"

Putting the dust box back in place, Sakura lifted a pouch with some caution and opened it up to take some of the contents. "Alcohol bombs." She showed Kakashi several spheres, each the size of an egg. "Pouch is divided into two sections. One contains a fluid that becomes viscous upon exposure to air. The other is thinner and disperses more freely. Both are strong smelling, afflicting the opponent's senses. But more importantly they are highly flammable."

Kakashi smiled. "Which brings us to...?"

Sakura shared her sensei's eagerness when she collected the next tool. A more rounded container than the dust box, but just as polished, it held three distinct features. First was a hole on one end which a small aerosol canister was currently fitted into. Second was a ring pull like appendage on the opposite end. And third was what looked like a ripcord next to the canister. And, like the dust box, it had a strap for wrist mounting.

"Short ranged flamethrower." She explained with more than a little enthusiasm. "Squeeze the ring trigger to release the gas and pull the ripcord to spark the flint inside. Releases a stream of fire dangerous up to three feet. Safest when used in short bursts, it complements the alcohol bombs _very_ nicely."

A very dangerous tool indeed, and not one that was usually entrusted to fresh Genin. But Sakura's record was impeccable and she'd proven herself to be a cut above other Genin, being the only one of her team to get as close to stealing the bells from Kakashi and actually manage to do it more than once. It was more for this reason than anything else that Kakashi felt confident in entrusting such things to her.

"And last but not least..."

For the final tool Sakura was a lot more dubious. Putting everything aside for now, she picked up one of a small bundle of clay spheres and held it in both hands for Kakashi. It was no bigger than a tennis ball, but Sakura treated it with more care than any other tool in her arsenal. "Fragmentation grenade." Her concentration was at its highest when dealing with _that_ tool. "Contains an explosive note, flash powder and metal shards. Can disorient, maim... and kill."

It was the care and fear that Sakura showed when dealing with that tool- no, that _weapon_ that truly made Kakashi believe that he was not making a mistake in handing it to her. He could see Naruto grinning in delight at possessing such a thing, but Sakura knew how terrible it was. "And as I'm sure you know, that one is always your last resort." He took the grenade from her hand and put it with the other three she had. "But taking a life is an act every ninja will have to face in their career."

Sakura nodded slowly, her brow furrowed in her conviction. "If I have to do it, I'll do it."

Kakashi gave Sakura a reassuring clap on the shoulder. He then got back to his feet and headed to a spot between his three students, looking over what they were doing. "Alright everyone, gather up your things and come here!" at his command the Genin obeyed, Naruto glad to put a stop to the tedious writing. After a few minutes the Genin were lined up before him, ready to hear what he had to say. "I've been thinking it over, and after all your hard work during your first month as ninja I think you all deserve a-"

The door to the sports hall opened up and a Chunin ranked ninja gave a cough. Kakashi paused while the Chunin came over to join them, delivering a letter into Kakashi's hand. "From Hokage-sama's office." Was all the Chunin said before tipping his head to Team Seven and departing the way he came.

While Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura watched their sensei open the letter and read it, they wondered what it was they "deserved". Thoughts of reward came to mind, but they were put aside when Kakashi frowned at the piece of paper. After a reading and rereading Kakashi gave what sounded like a sigh and slipped the letter into his pocket, looking a little put out. "Sorry, but I'm afraid we'll have to put that on hold for now." He gestured towards the door. "We've been summoned."

The three Genin looked at each other, none quite sure of what they were hearing. As a team they had never been called upon by the Hokage. It had always been Kakashi leading them there to take a mission. Why would the Hokage call for them? Well, there was only one way to find out really.

* * *

The mission directory office was where Team Seven found themselves upon reaching the Hokage's wing of the academy. It was a place they were well familiar with by now, and so they stood their ground as was expected of them and awaited their orders. Well, not exactly. When Sakumo walked into the room Naruto pointedly turned around and bowed deeply; a call back to one of the last conversations Naruto had with the Hokage after becoming an academy student.

Sakumo took his place at the line of tables, shared in company by Iruka, who always had an appraising look in his eyes when he saw his old students. Strangely enough Mizuki seemed to be missing, but no one bothered to draw attention to that. On the other side of Sakumo sat Sarutobi, who like Iruka always wore a pleasant smile when new Genin came for missions. Overall the atmosphere in the room reflected none of what Naruto and his team mates had read in Kakashi's expression earlier.

"I've been looking over the comments left by clients whom I assigned to you, and feedback has proven to be very positive." Sakumo talked with full official airs, deliberately ignoring his son's searching eye. "And from what I've learned from reports handed in by your instructors and your sensei, it seems like the three of you are very adept for your age. That is why with the approval of your sensei I would like to offer you a more challenging mission."

Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura perked up at the sound of such an offer. Though they'd kept quiet about it... mostly, the D-ranks were tedious to the point of maddening. The thought of getting a mission that would allow their training to actually be worth something was not an opportunity they wanted to pass up. They each looked at Kakashi, hoping that he would give the all clear for something more interesting than dog walking.

Kakashi didn't give an immediate response to his father's suggestion. He mulled it over carefully in fact. "I've said myself that I believe they're capable of taking on tougher assignments than most Genin." His tone deflated his team a little as they got the notion that a "but" was coming. "But they're still in the middle of a training regime. Putting it on hold at this stage might not be best for them."

His opinion was true and well thought out. Stopping a training regime under any circumstances often proved harmful to a Genin's growth. It was best to instil the strict routines needed of a ninja at an early stage to keep them from getting distracted. Sakumo knew and respected this as much as any other person in the room. Well, aside from the Genin anyway.

"The mission I have in mind doesn't have any serious requirements to it." After a moment of thought, this was what Sakumo responded with. "Is there any reason that their training must be held within the village?"

Kakashi thought about it, and he thought hard. But no matter how he shook it, there was no way he could say that the training demanded the facilities of the village without lying, and lying childishly at that. "No, I suppose not." He admitted. In the end the only reason he could find for staying in the village was personal whim, and as a ninja he was well aware that wasn't an appropriate reason to refuse a mission. Not that he had that option to begin with really.

Satisfied, Sakumo gestured towards Iruka to pass on one of the files sitting before the academy instructor. "The mission isn't an overly complicated one. You could think of it as wetting your students' feet." He waited until Kakashi had the file open before talking. "Your mission is to escort our client to his home in Wave Country." Sakumo then gestured to his attendant standing at the door. "His name is Tazuna."

Naruto and his team turned to look as an aging man half stumbled into the room, wielding a bottle of sake like a hammer. Instantly Sakura and Sasuke's expectations deflated as they realised the "client" they were "escorting" was just some alcoholic. It was hardly a job to brag about in their opinion. For Naruto however it was a touch more interesting. Heavy drinkers could be fun if you knew how to handle them.

"Is this my team?" slurred the old man Tazuna upon inspection of the Genin. "Are ye serious? These brats don't even look like they've been potty trained!"

Kakashi sensed the anger from his students right away and gave out a silent sigh. It was true that sooner or later a shinobi would have to deal with a client like this, and there was no getting around the fact that his students were each no older than thirteen. No one outside the ninja business could be blamed for underestimating them. Still, it couldn't hurt to-

Oh god what was Naruto doing?!

Naruto had silently left the company of his team to approach Tazuna. Kakashi was about to give him a warning to stop when Iruka beat him to the punch. "Naruto...!" the academy instructor was plenty capable of sounding imposing, even if he had spent most of his ninja career in a classroom. It wasn't enough to deter Naruto however.

The sharply dressed young ninja came to a stop before Tazuna, who was eying the boy suspiciously. He and just about everyone else in the room was caught off guard when Naruto made a faint bow with one hand curving across his waist. "If I may?" he made a request, but awaited no response. Swiftly he snatched the sake bottle out of Tazuna's hand, earning a shout of reproach from the booze hound. Before anyone could stop him Naruto lifted the bottle to his lips and drained the whole lot in three big gulps. Then, with a contented sigh he handed the bottle back to the old man. "My apologies. I thought you were bringing alcohol to an institution of education, but it turns out it was just water." He looked Tazuna in the eye and gave the old man a broad smirk that no one else could see. "If you would allow me, I'll reimburse you with a _real_ drink later."

With another bow Naruto walked away from the bewildered Tazuna and rejoined with his team. Tazuna wasn't the only one gaping. Iruka looked like he was about to blow a casket and Kakashi regretfully anticipated a scolding for not stopping his student. Not every reaction was given in silence however.

"What do you think you're doing?!" Sakura muttered scathingly under her breath. "You're a minor and you're drinking on the job!"

"Believe me, I've had worse things put in my body than alcohol." Naruto responded in an equally low tone. "If I do get drunk, you've got my permission to slap me back to sobriety, ok?"

"If we could move on?" Sakumo could hear every word the two Genin were murmuring and was getting rather tired of listening to it. "Remember that ninja are extensions of the village they represent. Actions taken by you are actions taken by the village. I'll ask you not to conduct yourself in such a way, Naruto."

Naruto's brow shot up in surprise. Such stern scolding from what he'd seen as a relatively innocent action was not what he'd been expecting. But then even today he found things about organised society that he didn't understand. Nowadays it was just easier to chalk them up to a new lesson learned and move on. "I'm sorry, Hokage-sama. It won't happen again."

There were a few seconds where nothing more happened than Sakumo looking into Naruto's eyes, searching for honesty or deceit. Eventually he settled on honesty and accepted Naruto's apology with a gruff nod. "As per the client's request you'll all be leaving noon tomorrow. Dismissed."

After another quick sizing up of the Genin, especially Naruto, Tazuna took his leave of the room to probably get more booze. Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura looked to Kakashi, who gestured for them to go on without him. Soon there was no one in the room below the rank of Chunin. That did however leave Kakashi standing in the middle of it all, despite being dismissed. For this reason Sakumo, Sarutobi and Iruka were all looking his way.

"Permission to speak freely?" Kakashi requested, his eye on only his father's.

Sakumo's response was not immediate, and it looked like he might even have refused. "Granted." He relented, sitting forward to listen to what his son had to say.

"I'd like to ask why exactly it is that _my_ team is being assigned this mission. I understand you have high hopes for them given their academy records, so if that's the reason then I have no problem." A brief pause as Kakashi chose his words. "I just have a concern to put to rest then. Namely, if the real reason behind this mission is to examine Naruto."

Iruka looked as if he was about to protest Kakashi's accusations, but Sakumo shot the Chunin a look that silenced him instantly. The Godaime Hokage then returned his attention to Kakashi. The quiet that followed was enough to satisfy Kakashi that things weren't as simple as trying to help a team that would hopefully join the elite put its foot through the door.

"You should know better than to ask such silly questions Kakashi." The hard quality to Sakumo's voice wasn't something of a father to a son at all. It wasn't even Hokage to Jonin. It was man to man, even if not on exactly equal terms. "There is not nor will there ever be a situation where we can afford to take our attentions away from Uzumaki Naruto. Regardless of his personal history."

"Then if I could ask another question." Kakashi's tone became just as steely, but it accepted the lack of equality between him and Sakumo. "Was I chosen to be his sensei because of my relation to the Yondaime... or because I'm the only other person besides Tenzo who can control him without having the name Uchiha?"

The atmosphere in the room deadened at that very instant. After a few seconds Sakumo turned his head to Iruka and nodded towards the door, signalling the Chunin to leave. Iruka did just that, glad to get away from the growing awkwardness his lack of place in such a conversation had created. When he was gone, Sakumo passed a glance to Sarutobi. The Sandaime shared a look with the Godaime before settling his gaze on Kakashi.

With a sigh Sakumo got to his feet and walked around the table, standing in front of it so he was face to face with Kakashi. He removed the hat of the Hokage and put it down behind him, a symbol that he was no longer speaking as the Godaime of Konoha. "Kakashi if it were simply about controlling Naruto then I would most definitely have assigned Tenzo instead of you." Weary apprehension rose in Kakashi as he felt an uncomfortable familiarity with the direction of the discussion. "But the truth is it wasn't me who assigned them to you."

"I did."

Kakashi turned quickly around at the sound of a voice he hadn't been expecting to hear. There was someone standing in front of the door to the room, looking Kakashi straight in the eye. Kakashi would look at hers, but they were masked behind the porcelain depiction of an animal, as all ANBU masks were. The depiction on this mask was of a ferret. A very familiar presence to Kakashi.

"... You?" Kakashi could barely apply sound to his words, giving them out in little more than a breath. The ANBU kunoichi crossed the room to stand close to him, facing him directly. With permission from Sakumo the kunoichi lifted her mask off her face to look properly at Kakashi. "Why... Rin?"

Nohara Rin held a firm and steady gaze with Kakashi, bearing no regret despite the wounded look on her old team mate's face. That said, she spoke softly, sympathetically, to her oldest friend. "Because Uzumaki Naruto believes that it's him versus the world. Because Uchiha Sasuke has accepted his place in his brother's shadow. Because Haruno Sakura is blinded by her own sense of justice." She jabbed her finger into Kakashi's chest and sharpened her tone. "But more than that, _you_ need _them_. You need students who need you, because you've been living in a rut for too long."

Rin backed off after giving her explanation to allow Kakashi some room to think about what she'd just said. Kakashi however seemed simply dumbstruck at the telling off that had come straight out left field in his opinion. The hush carried on for a bit too long, with Rin awaiting a response and Sakumo not wishing to step in on this quarrel. Eventually then it was Sarutobi who interjected.

"Rin consulted with me and I gave her my views on the students." He explained, bringing Kakashi's attention off Rin and to himself. "Those three certainly are the best in their year, but skill and talent alone aren't enough to promise a long and successful future as I'm sure you know. It's your duty to not just train them, but to guide them on the path that will make them the best of what they can be. And I fully agree with Rin's view." He gave a meaningful nod. "You aren't an old man just yet. You still have untapped potential, Kakashi."

The words of Rin hit Kakashi in the heart and the words of the Sandaime hit him in the head. It would have been enough for Kakashi, but Sakumo had his own view to give. "The Jonin sensei is more than just an instructor. He is the second father to his students." Kakashi's expression flickered at the look on Sakumo's face. "Minato was a better father to you than I was. He taught you very well. As his student it's your responsibility to pass on the best of what you learned from him."

To hear such words coming from his own father, Kakashi couldn't help but visibly deflate. A faint laugh came up from within. He was being ganged up on by the majority of the few who Kakashi would allow to say such things. And every word they spoke was a word of truth. With nothing to deny, he could only look upon himself and know his self inflicted deceptions.

"This has certainly been an eye opener." He confessed, rubbing the back of his neck and lifting his eyes to meet with Rin's, Sakumo's and Sarutobi's alike. A moment more of introspective thought before he picked his shoulders back up. "Well, I've got a mission to prepare for, so I'll be taking my leave for now."

Rin, Sakumo and Sarutobi stared at him as he turned and began to leave the room, each of them left wanting for more of a response than just that. Then, almost as an afterthought, Kakashi looked over his shoulder. "Oh, and I'll be entering my team into the next Chunin exams." He said before opening the door. "I'll make sure they're ready for it."

And without any further ado Kakashi left the mission assignment room altogether. In his absence the first one to make any sound was Sakumo, in the form of a discontented grumble. "I swear he's just like his mother sometimes." He sat back on the table and massaged a stiff shoulder. "Well, better he take after her than me I think."

Rin, who had yet to take her eyes off the door Kakashi had departed by, made a slight inclination towards the Hokage. "Sir, if I may?" she asked, taking his lack of response as permission to go on. "I think you're much too hard on yourself... sir."

* * *

Following their dismissal by the Hokage, Naruto left the company of Sasuke and Sakura rather quickly. He headed straight home with a great big grin on his face so that he could get started on his packing. He could hardly believe his luck. After a stifling year of only having the village to tour around, he was finally getting back out into the wide world! The prospect of being where there were no walls was positively thrilling to him. How could he not get excited?

Naruto spent the better part of an hour pacing around his apartment, figuring out what to bring and what not to bring. Back when he ran with the Breakers the only things he ever carried were his blade, the Uzumaki dossier and the clothes on his back. However, back then he was free to live a more "liberal" lifestyle. As much as he hated to admit it, his way of life now brought cause for different measures when headed out across the country. There were far too many laws to uphold.

In his fervour for preparing himself for the journey he could hardly wait to embark on, his company became forgotten time and time again. Kiba watched Naruto's excitement with a mild smirk on his face, while Akamaru lapped water from a bowl atop the counter. Kiba had a pretty good idea of what Naruto was going through right now. His first response to the news of Naruto getting a C-rank mission was one of disbelief, followed soon by jealousy.

A temporary stop in Naruto's efforts was brought about by the boy himself standing before the "map wall". It was exactly as it sounded; a large expanse of wall covered in large maps of different regions of the world. The one that had Naruto's current attention was of course Fire Country's. He measured the distance between Konoha and Wave Country, not as a straight path but as one with ups and downs and curves all around.

To this Kiba exhibited particular interest. Naruto didn't boast about his less flashy talents, or his history, but it was clear from the mutterings under his breath that he knew most of Fire Country like the back of his hand. One could even go as far as to say the whole place was his back garden, if the few stories he _had_ told weren't exaggerated too much.

A further five minutes of fast walking and turning led Naruto to being quite dizzy. Enough so to warrant a short rest. He dropped into a stool next to Kiba and checked out what he'd managed to accomplish so far. "I never had enough stuff to make packing something even worth thinking about before." He mopped some sweat from his brow with a handkerchief. "Sorry, did you say something?"

"Heh." Kiba chuckled, wondering whether Naruto had really been that engrossed in his task or if he'd been wilfully ignorant as a means of stalling for time. Either was pretty believable given the discussion Kiba was trying to have with him. "I said that I was talking to Ino the other day. Apparently she's had a hell of a time trying to get a hold of you ever since the graduation exam. She seems pretty mad about something."

Naruto tried to emulate Kiba's laughter, but it came out stunted and fake. Such a poor effort stopped him from redirecting the talk elsewhere. Kiba was far too aware of Naruto's discomfort now. "I found out that the reason she wanted to hang out with us was because her dad wanted her to keep an eye on me. I convinced her not to say anything, and that put her in a tough situation." He slouched forward and fixed his eyes on one of the windows, remembering the last time Ino had tried to catch him. "After graduation I felt kinda bad about it, so I went to her dad and cleared things up." He shrugged. "Now things can go back to normal for her."

Akamaru lifted his head from his bowl and shook it wildly, flailing flecks of water all over the countertop. Naruto flinched as cold water hit the back of his ear, but Kiba made no such sudden movement. He had his eyes on Naruto, and he didn't look to be in a good mood. When Naruto detected the scrutiny and checked, Kiba had already turned his head away.

"That's not how you right a wrong." Kiba looked harder than he usually did. "If you're feeling guilty then it's your job to recompense. Make up for whatever hardships you've caused either in equal value or more. You're not doing Ino any favours by leaving her with all those unresolved burdens. If you've really done as much as you say, what makes you think you can get away with just discarding her?"

Once concluding his thoughts Kiba looked Naruto in the eyes, waiting for an answer and daring Naruto not to give him one. Naruto had been listening carefully, but he was more baffled by the passion in which Kiba spoke than the things he had actually said. "Recompense huh?" he mused, lifting his head to look through his skylight. "I didn't know you cared about things like that."

In response Kiba grunted and mimicked Naruto's casual attention to the sky as shown through the glass on the ceiling. "It was something my dad used to say. Before he left anyway."

The two of them became content with staring at the sky, not saying a thing to each other. Akamaru sat between their craning heads, looking between one and the next, feeling rather bored. Kiba reached up and scratched his pup behind the ear, though Akamaru immediately hit the floor and rolled on his back, scratching at Kiba's hand to guide it to his belly.

When Naruto noticed how orange the sky was turning he lifted himself back up to return to the task of preparing for tomorrow. "I've been telling myself that I'd done all I could and that I'd just have to live with the rest of my guilt." He reached into his drawers and pulled out a clear plastic umbrella with a sharp point; a purchase he'd made with an eerie grin. "But you make a pretty good case. Couldn't hurt to do some more." He gave a pause for thought. "Probably better to leave it until after I get back."

Having dropped his gaze to Naruto when he started talking, Kiba gave a look that said "fair enough" and got to his feet. "I'd better leave Mr Big-shot ninja to his packing then." He whistled to Akamaru and headed to the door, but at the last moment he stopped and turned back with a bit of embarrassment about him. "Oh... I almost forgot."

Naruto paused. "What's up?"

"I was talking to my mom about our sparring sessions, and I kinda brought up the Beast Form to her." Naruto cocked a curious brow. "I mentioned that I said you couldn't use it because it was based on Inuzuka techniques, and she got mad at me." Kiba rubbed the back of his head where his mother had slapped him. "She said it'd be my fault if you died because you couldn't go all out on any enemies you faced. So... you know... use it if you want."

There was a moment of pause as Kiba tried to decide whether or not he wanted to say more, but in the end he opted not go, giving a brief wave before heading out with Akamaru at his heels. Naruto watched his friend walk past the windows in the direction of home, his other brow lifted to join his first. _"The Beast Form huh?"_ he thought while folding up a spare shirt. A small smile spread irresistibly across his lips into a full-fledged grin. _"Probably would've used it anyway if I needed it. But at least I don't have to hide it now. Awesome!"_

All in all today had been a good day.

* * *

The next day was a promising one, and a good way to start their first mission out of the village. Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura had all arrived early to the village gates, waiting for their sensei and client to arrive. Each of them carried a backpack filled with their own definitions of bare essentials. That said they all had the sense not to pack too much. Even Naruto realised he'd been overdoing it when he had to cram his pack shut earlier that day.

Though the team was mostly together, they did not stick particularly close. Or rather, Naruto was nowhere near the other two. Ever since showing up at the gates he'd been hovering on the edge, tempted to take a step out, but restraining himself. The road from the village had always looked appealing from the inside, but never more than it did now.

While Naruto bobbed to and fro from the balls of his feet, Sasuke and Sakura were keeping their eyes peeled for the only people they were left waiting for. There were still a few minutes to go until the agreed meeting time, and not even Tazuna had made an appearance. It was a poor show if the client would hire an entire team to guard him on his way home and not even have the manners to be on time. But that time hadn't arrived yet, so they cut him a little slack. Their main worry was about when Kakashi planned on arriving.

At last they noticed a familiar person coming their way. The one they expected to be on time. Tazuna appeared from off the main street with a large rucksack hanging off his shoulders. He spotted the Genin trio and gave a flat faced wave. Apparently he was in a better mood than he was yesterday, or at the very least he was sober. A promising start, they had to admit.

"Now all that's left is Kakashi-sensei." Sasuke muttered, with half a plan to sit down for the inevitably long wait.

"Mm." Sakura concurred, sharing the same idea.

"What do you mean by that?"

Sasuke and Sakura turned quickly around at the sound of Kakashi's voice, and found their sensei appearing from around the edge of the gates obscured from their view. It seemed that he had been waiting there for a while, judging by the book he was slipping into his pocket. He joined the two of them and looked around, seeing Tazuna nearing them and then glancing at his third student, who had yet to notice his arrival.

"Naruto!" he shouted, surprising not just Naruto, but Sasuke and Sakura too. "We're about to head out! Fall in line!"

For a second there was a pause as Naruto looked between his sensei and his team mates, not quite sure of what he was seeing. Neither of them could offer him any possible answers to the strangeness of their sensei's unexpected command, for they too were perplexed by it. Due to this they all simply did as they were told and stood in a line, awaiting whatever it was Kakashi had to say.

"Our objective is to escort Tazuna from here to Wave Country." Kakashi spoke loud and clear, and stood in front of the Genin in a fashion more like a general to his soldiers than a teacher to his students. "To be clear, our definition of escort includes acting as bodyguards to our client. Though this mission is only a C-rank, this gives you no right to slack off. If the worst case scenario occurs and our client's life is in danger, you must be prepared to sacrifice yourselves for his sake. That is the way of the ninja. Failure is a disgrace. Are we clear?"

"Yes!" the three Genin exclaimed in unison, just as Tazuna arrived on the scene.

"My my, such diligent young ones." He remarked, stepping around the Genin to join Kakashi in observing them. "I still would have liked a more experienced team however."

Kakashi turned on his feel to face Tazuna. "What you're looking at here are the top three students of their year." He stated, gesturing to each student in turn. "I won't go into the details for the sake of secrecy, but this team has been handpicked by seasoned ninja with the intention of forming an elite team. As their sensei it is my duty to lead them there. A task I assure you I am capable of."

Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura couldn't contain the looks of near awe on their faces as Kakashi looked at them with his most serious stare. Unlike the aloof sensei they had come to know in the past month, whose main method of teaching was self study whenever he could afford it, the man they were looking at now seemed much more reliable.

The convictions of Kakashi were greatly appreciated by his students, but for Tazuna it sounded like he was focusing more on his students than the task at hand. Still, he had a schedule to keep and didn't want to waste time debating about something that probably wasn't going to change anyway, so he let it slide without complaint.

"Well, I'm ready to go, so let's head off." He said, beginning to take his leave.

Kakashi gave a curt nod and turned back to his students, who each immediately straightened up under his scrutiny. "Naruto, would I be correct in assuming that you know the way from here to Wave Country?" Naruto grinned at his sensei, glad that he'd taken the time to revise the possible routes. "Then if you and Sasuke could lead the way, Sakura and I will take up the rear."

Naruto gave a sharp salute and headed to overtake Tazuna, with Sasuke joining him at a more casual pace. The two of them stood then at the edge of the village gates, both sharing in a moment that they didn't want to waste. Sasuke's first time out of the village, Naruto's return to the wilderness he'd been raised in. And as they both prepared to take that first step of liberation... Tazuna impatiently shoved them forward.

"Get a move on!"

Naruto and Sasuke glowered at Tazuna from the corners of their eyes. If they weren't tasked with protecting him...

* * *

There was no one who could deny that the forest by day was a peaceful place to be. Of course within Konoha there were plenty of forest to immerse oneself in, but for Naruto none of the bordered woodlands of the village could compare to the harmony of nature that engulfed you from the moment you stepped inside of it. If not for the road forged by man, this wilderness would have been perfect.

The start of the journey was a calming one, with idle banter passed here and there throughout the first few miles. Sasuke casually asking Naruto which parts of Fire Country he'd been around, and Naruto smiling while replying that there wasn't enough distance between where they were and Wave to cover it all. Still, he indulged his team mate with a few notable places he'd visited. A mountain with a hot spring big enough for twenty four men to bathe in (never explaining why he had such a specific number in mind), a valley he swore had fossilized weapons from a war interrupted by a spontaneous flow of lava (which Kakashi passively confirmed) and of a town with a "Geisha festival" (which the perverted giggles of Kakashi _and_ Tazuna confirmed).

All in all for the first stretch of the mission there was really nothing of note that occurred. None of Team Seven expected, or wanted for that matter, any trouble to arise, but as none came Naruto and Sasuke couldn't help a slight lapse in attention. Their gazes around the path ahead and to their respective sides became steadily less thorough. They didn't let it degrade to the point where they could be accused of not paying attention. But if something _did_ happen, they wouldn't be as prepared as they should have been.

It was why both of them were fairly startled when they were struck across the sides of their heads.

In a panic the two of them turned around, already wielding a kunai each to face whatever it was that assailed them. In their motions however their wrists were grabbed and their momentum used against them. Before either of them knew what was happening, each had the other's blade pressed against their throat. And Kakashi, with their wrists in his hands, looked crossly down at them.

"How do you expect to guard the client when you can't even guard yourselves?" Kakashi let them both go with a severe stare. "Take a look at Sakura."

Craning their necks around to look past their sensei and Tazuna, Naruto and Sasuke saw that Sakura was pretty busy from where she stood. She'd met both of their gazes for only a fleeting second before continuing to examine her proximity with not just her eyes, but her ears. And to cap it off, she did it with an expression that was at best vaguely interested. Even so, her efforts were clear and undeniable.

"If this mission is boring you, feel free to return to the village."

With their ears growing hot from shame Naruto and Sasuke shook their heads. "Won't happen again." Naruto murmured, masking his annoyance at the scolding as best as he could.

Kakashi was willing to leave it at that, but the way Naruto put his response gave him cause to carry on. "You've said that a lot when it comes to addressing your shortcomings." He said, glancing at Sasuke to continue doing what he ought to be doing. "I'm not lecturing you to make you look bad. I'm lecturing you because I want to keep you safe."

Naruto's chest filled itself up, and he released his air in one sighing exhale. He looked up at Kakashi with a better expression, not of anger or shame, but solid comprehension. "I understand sensei. I appreciate it." Then without waiting to be told to do so, he joined Sasuke in resuming a more diligent watch. Satisfied with that response, Kakashi stepped aside and gestured for the group to carry on.

"You run a tight ship." Tazuna commented firmly but with respect.

"I do my best."

When the others had moved on enough that Kakashi could resume his job, he noticed Sakura visibly relax a little bit. He certainly had to hand it to her; she took her job very seriously. But just as the boys had been making the mistake of doing too little, he was worried that she was doing too much. No longer needing to keep an eye on her left, she had instead taken to adjusting the straps of her tool belt in the search for just the right degree of comfort and efficiency.

"You don't have to be so tense you know."

Sakura was surprised. "Am I doing something wrong sensei?"

"Well... not exactly." As Kakashi gave his next words some thought, Sakura decided that the subject was over and returned to what she had been doing. Concerned and a little bit irritated, Kakashi continued. "It might not seem like you're doing much, but all that fidgeting is tiring out your muscles." Sakura looked at him again, even more surprised than before. "I don't have such concerns for this mission, but there will be times when walking like this will be the closest thing to rest you can afford. Learn to relax now so you can be at your best when things get tough."

A little time went by with Kakashi and Sakura continuing their work just as Naruto and Sasuke now were. Sakura kept her attentions firmly to the woods on her right, but made sure to keep sufficient focus on every other side, as far as Kakashi next to her. On the other hand, Kakashi was capable in enveloping the entirety of the group and as much distance as any of the Genin could manage. "... How do you relax?" Sakura asked.

For the briefest of seconds Kakashi's concentration lapsed as he avoided stumbling over his own feet. Incredulously he turned to Sakura, who was watching him with mild concern. Naruto and Sasuke had joked about Sakura not knowing how to unwind, but he wasn't sure whether or not to take Sakura's question seriously. It was only Sakura's persistent stoic demeanour that had him lean towards the affirmative response.

"Um... well..." having not expected such a question, Kakashi didn't have a ready answer. He had his own methods of relaxing, but he didn't think his young, female student would appreciate the subtle nuances of Icha Icha Paradise or its sequel novels. That said his unofficial, though unwanted, nickname among his co-workers was the "king of relaxing". If there was a way, he probably knew it. "This is your first time leaving the village, right?"

"Right."

Naruto jerked his head ever so slightly to take a quick glance at Sakura. There was a troubled look drawn over his face that was impossible for Sasuke not to notice. For that reason Sasuke started listening in too, but it was clear the topic Kakashi and Sakura were discussing wasn't anything important. "Something the matter?" he asked, returning his attentions to his field of awareness.

The response wasn't immediate, for Naruto had to decide if he wanted to tell Sasuke what was on his mind at all. After a short deliberation he saw no harm in it, but kept his voice low so not to be overheard by the ones covering the rear. "When I first met Sakura there was something that really bothered me about her. I kinda felt like I recognised her or something." He muttered with a deep frown. "After a while I figured that maybe we crossed paths before I moved to the village, but if this is her first time leaving then that can't be it." He made an even deeper frown. "God damn it!"

At first Sasuke didn't see what was such a big deal about that, but then he recalled that Naruto _had_ been unusually interested in Sakura for the first few weeks of his time at the academy. Sasuke had first interpreted it as a crush, but time and sparring matches disproved that. So he too had to admit a slight intrigue in why Naruto felt he knew Sakura. "She can't be the only pink haired girl in the world." He pointed out with a shrug. "It's rare, but that's why it reminds you of someone in particular don't you think?"

It was a solution that was as annoying to Naruto as it was reasonable. He didn't like to think that all the time he spent fretting over that niggling sensation at the back of his head could be explained away so easily. _"If it's that rare you think I'd remember where I-"_

Lightning struck his senses and snapped him out of his thoughts as something breached the grounds of his awareness. He looked back at Kakashi, who met his eyes and gave a curt but tiny nod. _"He can recognise killing intent."_ Kakashi noted, making a small gesture with his hand to his side; one of the signals he'd taught them. _"Make a scene."_

Hiding a small smirk at the easy to do request, Naruto stopped in his tracks and turned around on the spot, marching to Tazuna and sticking his finger in the old man's chest. "Y'know I've been thinking." He said with a menacing look on his face. "You did a pretty slick job haggling with Hokage-sama. How about you pay for a decent inn with the money you saved? Give your body guards some incentive to do a better job after cheaping out on our wages."

"Hah?!" Tazuna was deeply disgruntled both by having a snot nosed brat in his face making demands, and accusing him of things he most certainly did _not_ do. Rather than getting in an argument with a kid however, he looked at Kakashi to direct his disdain. "You wanna get this little punk out of my face?!"

"My apologies Tazuna-san. It looks like Naruto still doesn't understand how a ninja should conduct himself." Kakashi did a very good job of looking intimidating. "Sasuke, Sakura, if you could please separate your team mate from the client?"

Sasuke and Sakura were both very thrown by this unusual turn of events, but they were quick to comply. Both of them grabbed Naruto by the arms and tried to pull him away, with Naruto alternating between yells and whispers. "GET OFF OF ME YOU ASSHOLES _we're being followed_ I SWEAR TO GOD I WILL KICK YOUR ASSES _get into formation!_"

Obviously they were confused to hear such incoherence from Naruto, but he made his point with the utmost seriousness in his whispers. Brief looks of conformation to Kakashi told them the rest they needed to believe him and they both fell into the act, pretending to have weak holds that Naruto could break out of.

"You asked for it!" Naruto snarled, throwing his hands together in a set of seals. The majority of the seals were nothing but random efforts however. It was when he rested on the final seal, the crab seal, that what he was trying to do became obvious. The Sonar jutsu. A second later he reached into his weapon pouch and pulled out several kunai with explosive tags, whirling around and throwing them into the woods. "TWO OVER THERE!"

Naruto made the tags explode prematurely so to create a lot of light, smoke and noise to veil their next movements with. The two enemies he had coated with his sensory chakra were currently splitting apart in a panic from the sudden attack. Sasuke and Sakura were already taking defensive stances around a thoroughly bewildered Tazuna, with Naruto falling in line just as the enemies broke out from the forest and made their presence known.

Two figures dressed in dark clothes, with horned forehead protectors and metal face guards. But what was truly worrisome about them were the large steel gauntlets they wore on inverse hands... and the insignia upon their forehead protectors. Kirigakure.

As if their problems weren't big enough, a sharp glance from Sakura and a murmured couple of words breathed fresh worries into the group. "Where's Kakashi-sensei?"

"Just wait." Naruto grinned. The duration of the Sensory jutsu was still ongoing. Even if he couldn't see his sensei, he knew exactly where he was.

And within an instant, so did everyone else.

"Sorry, but I'll have to stop you there."

The two Kirin in froze in place at the feeling of blades against their throats. Kakashi had appeared directly behind them, arms crossed and kunai ready to give both ninja a second smile. In the short opening Naruto created Kakashi had slipped into the trees and flanked the two in an instant. The battle was over before it had even started.

"You two are the Demon Brothers, Gozu and Meizu, correct?" Kakashi rhetorically asked, his head turning slightly so he could see both ninja with his one eye. "I'm curious as to why a pair of missing-nin like yourselves would be pursuing a Genin team on a C-rank mission."

Sasuke smirked at the sight of the two intrusive ninja being detained by one single ninja. Before he'd even known what was happening they had overcome what threatened to be a dangerous situation. He had to admit to feeling a little disappointed that he was left out of it for the most part though. Something told him that Sakura felt every bit the same as he did.

"Well?" Kakashi asked.

One of the demon brothers, Gozu judging by Kakashi's glance when he gave the names, started to give a dry chuckle. "Before you interrogate us, maybe you should think about your own situation." He said, leering at Kakashi from the corner of his eye. "The legend of the Copy Ninja must be so very exaggerated, if you don't even watch where you put your feet."

Those sinister words sparked a terrible realisation in Kakashi that forced him to look at his feet, now aware that the mound beneath one may not be an unevenness to the road as he first thought. In the second that his attention was diverted Gozu and Meizu split apart in two directions, cruelly shoving Kakashi as they departed. The act forced Kakashi to stumble back, and take his foot off the mound.

Fear and horror gripped Team Seven as their eyes were disoriented by the light and dust storm of an explosion that completely engulfed their sensei. Out of nowhere, in a heartbeat, the team had gone from nipping a threat in the bud to being in the worst position possible. If not for that threat they might have been allowed to concentrate more on their sensei. But the demon brothers were not willing to give them that time.

"They're coming!" Tazuna yelped. Sakura and Sasuke were still too shocked to think about what to do, but they were able to at least raise their guards. The same couldn't be said for Naruto.

The explosion. The sight of an instant of flames engulfing someone he knew. The feeling of being struck with hopelessness as you realised you would never see that person breathing again. Those images meant more to Naruto than they ever could to his team mates. Because they were familiar to him. It was not the first time he had lost someone in such an awful fashion.

These guys...

In Naruto's perspective things seemed slow, but to the perspectives of those around him, it was much too fast to believe. Shock turned to anger and anger into fury. His shaking hands became shaking fists and his jaw tightened into a growl that sounded more animal like than human. A flicker of red appeared in his eyes, but did not stay. Before the demon brothers had cut the distance between their starting positions and Team Seven by even half, Naruto met one of them.

The other brother, Meizu, was surprised to see Naruto suddenly engulf his field of vision, fists raised with one flying straight for him. But Meizu was no Genin. He was a former Chunin of Kirigakure, and wouldn't be knocked down by a straight punch from an immature whelp of Konoha. Grabbing the boy's wrist and pulling him aside was child's play. There was nothing stopping him from lunging out then with his clawed gauntlet.

Little did he expect Naruto to dive for him to dodge that attack. To allow his arm to twist painfully just to enter closer into Meizu's range and deliver a fearsome punch straight into the missing nin's solar plexus. The strike forced the air out of Meizu's lungs and delivered an intense pain from within him. It caused him to lose his grip on Naruto's wrist, but he was not so foolish as to forget his opponent because of pain. With a sharp retraction of his gauntlet he created three deep cuts in Naruto's upper arm. He gave the boy every bit as much pain as the boy had given him.

"GAH!" Naruto screeched as blood poured down his arm. His wound was greater and his pain threshold lower. Meizu was able to recover quicker, and from there lash out for a second attack. Naruto leapt back to avoid it, but Meizu pursued.

On the other side of things Sasuke and Sakura had their own problem to deal with. Naruto's break from rank had left the two of them to take care of the other brother, Gozu. It was Sasuke who took the initiative on this, giving a quick look to Sakura to tell her to keep watch over Tazuna. Then, full of doubts, he started to take on the other ex-Kiri ninja.

Sakura was left watching as her two team mates entered into messy fights with dangerous opponents. Naruto, who had given her far more trouble in the sparring field than even Sasuke, was fighting with one arm against a bloodthirsty opponent. Sasuke on the other hand was much more skilled in counter style combat. Though he was able to keep from getting slashed, he was having a hard time dealing any damage. Neither of them could hope to overcome their opponent's on their own.

Sakura bit her lip, aware of the position she was in. It was her duty to guard Tazuna, with her life as Kakashi had said. But Kakashi had gone and gotten himself killed, leaving them all outclassed by these two. If she did nothing, Naruto and Sasuke would die, and she knew she couldn't take on two opponents at once while guarding Tazuna. In other words, doing nothing meant dying. But acting meant leaving Tazuna wide open.

"... I'm sorry!" she exclaimed, running off to her team mate's aid.

As the one in the more desperate situation, it was Naruto who Sakura rushed to help first. But she realised too late that she had been hasty and made none of the preparations to use any of her tools. Meizu was moving in for the attack, without there even being time to grab a kunai. Sakura had to think fast and act just as quickly. What would she do?!

The answer came in a heartbeat, and her response within that same frame of time. The hilt of Naruto's katana was right in front of her, ready and available to her use. Without even a fraction of a second to think about it, she grabbed the blade and pulled it out from its sheath, using the same motion to slash down on Meizu. The attack was fast and came with a lot of force. But Meizu was able to block it with his gauntlet.

Again, perceptions seemed to slow for Naruto. He could see Sakura with his sword, even able to feel a spatter of annoyance at it, and see Meizu gripping it in his clawed hand. His eyes drifted over the enemy shinobi and somewhere inside his head he ran through a conflict of interest. But the blood draining through his arm and the searing pain of what felt like poison drove him to throw aside concerns. His lips curled back and his exhale came out as a scream. He attacked in a bestial fashion and punched Meizu in the centre of his chest.

Blood sprayed out from Meizu's back, fountaining over the road and painting it red. Sakura's expression became horrified again as she saw the mist get carried in a faint breeze. Meizu gurgled as blood filled his lungs and began to drown him. And Naruto stood in the same position, fist driven into his enemy's chest. The blood of Meizu's mixed with his own and dripped down to the ground in a gory pool.

Somewhere to the right Gozu screamed his brother's name. Naruto didn't hear it. He couldn't hear anything.


	10. Chapter 10

This chapter had to go through some serious alterations. Some parts had to be rewritten altogether, to take what was a boring chapter and make it much more interesting. Hopefully I've learned from this experience and won't need to make such hefty alterations, but as usual, we shall see. And as always, please enjoy.

* * *

**Memories of the flesh**

A curious smell of indecipherable origin wafted through the air of the dimly lit chamber; a blend of tea, perfume and alcohol. The scents were rather overpowering, but from what Naruto had come to understand, there was good reason for them to be. It was better to smell tea, perfume and alcohol than the other smells conjured up within the walls of a brothel. Not that Naruto was to understand such things just yet. He was only seven years old at the time.

**Blood, the sickening stench of blood that made him want to hurl.**

In the corner he sat quietly, awkwardly, behind a screen on a soft love chair. No man wanted to see a child when he paid visit to the harlot's house, so he was kept out of sight for the time being. It was just as well. Naruto didn't like the looks of the men that came through there, and the states of the women that joined the men or saw them off made him feel more than a touch uncomfortable. So he just sat there, chewing on the tip of a dagger and staring avidly at the pattern on the screen.

**The blade in his hand quivered like a frightened thing, digging into the skin that held it too tight.**

This was not his first time visiting this place. This he knew well enough. Once a year he had been brought to this place and left in this very same corner to wait for an hour until his sensei returned to collect him. It was merely this seventh year that Naruto was able to understand anything of what was going on. But even still with his vague familiarity of the place he was unable to relax. There were too many walls. It was too confining. Not that anyone listened to his complaints.

**The shadows clung to him. The silence whispered gleeful threats, daring him to close his eyes and sleep.**

Still it was no place for a seven year old to be, stuck in the corner of a brothel with nothing to do with himself but play absently with a small pointed object. Least of all a boy like Naruto, who relished in the freedom that the great outdoors had to offer for him. Sitting on that spot for as long as he already had, it was no wonder that he was beginning to get rather frustrated out of boredom. Add in the general silliness of putting any part of a dagger in his mouth, he was just begging for an accident.

**He couldn't get it off. He couldn't see it, but he felt it. So he kept scrubbing. He had to get the blood off. Why wouldn't it come off?!**

"Ow!" he gasped as the blade slipped and nicked his lips. He flinched as he felt the quick trickling of blood run down to his chin, and in a panic he tried to stem the flow. Without much of a clue as to what to do, he started sucking on his lower lip to try and stem the bleeding. It was hard to tell if it was working, but the metallic taste in his mouth was unpleasant.

**So unpleasant.**

Just as he was about to look for something like a tissue to wipe the blood from his chin, a lady poked her head around the edge of the screen to take a look at him. "Are you-" hearing his quiet cry of pain, she'd come to investigate only to find the blood dripping from his chin to his shirt. "Oh my!"

**No...**

The lady rushed over to Naruto's side and took his chin in her fingers so she could see the damage. Her touch was like static to Naruto; alien and unwelcome. He retreated from her with a look of warning in his eyes that carried only as much water as a puppy eying a nail clipper in his master's hand. This nonetheless made the lady hesitate. Judging Naruto for a second, she reached within her kimono and pulled out a handkerchief.

**No!**

"Can I see?" she asked softly.

**You can't!**

Though still wary of her, the taste of blood in Naruto's mouth wasn't going away. He shuffled over with caution and allowed the lady to clean the blood off his chin and look at his lip. All the while he never took his eyes off her. She was a strange lady, with long, pink hair. He'd never seen anyone with hair that colour before. It was for that reason that he couldn't seem to look away. That and the fact that the lady was really pretty.

**Stay away!**

Aware of just how much attention the little boy was giving her, the lady made sure to put a smile on her face to reassure him. Gently she pulled over his lip to take a look at the cut. It was shallow, thankfully. Shallower than she would expect given the amount of blood that had come from it. But that flow of blood seemed to have been ceased, and for that she was glad. She did what she could before she noticed the dagger on the floor, where Naruto had dropped it. She picked it up and looked at it. It was a clean blade, so there was no worry of the boy getting an infection. That wasn't to say there was _nothing_ to worry about though.

**Please!**

"This isn't a toy. You shouldn't be playing with something like this." There was a slightly affronted look about Naruto as she slipped the dagger away into her kimono, but he offered her no verbal grievance. He settled for a shrewd stare that she rebutted with a searching one, sceptical yet delicate. "Are you waiting for someone?"

**...**

Naruto had taken to licking his lower lip to check his cut with his tongue while debating whether or not to answer the lady. As with the previous visits to the place, his perception of time was skewed and he always held the faint worry that his sensei had forgotten about him and left. "Uh huh." He murmured as anxiety made his stomach squirm. He was suddenly thinking about innumerable what ifs in excruciating detail.

**...**

The lady looked after Naruto for a time after that, always watching him and keeping rather quiet company. Whenever Naruto looked her way she would offer him a smile that embarrassed him into quickly averting his gaze. There was a feeling inside of him he couldn't quite explain. He didn't dislike the lady, but her presence made him uneasy. He thought about the feeling he'd had when she touched him. The softness like static. If anyone touched him in a friendly manner, it was a slap on the back or a rough tousling of the hair. He wasn't fond of the contrast this lady presented.

**I hate you.**

After a while the silence grew too stifling for a fidgety kid like Naruto to bear. Becoming desperate for something to take his mind off the lack of anything happening he asked the first question that popped into his head. "Do you... have any family?" as soon as he uttered the question he berated himself. It was such a boring thing to ask that he didn't care about the answer anyway.

**I love you.**

The lady on the other hand seemed pleasantly taken aback by the sudden line of questioning. Her smile became less of a show and more of a shy laugh as she batted away the question with a feminine gesture. "Oh, not really!" she replied, though a red tint seeped through her makeup to give her a more real blush. "Though I've been called "Everyone's Oneechan" before. But that was-"

**I'm sorry.**

"Come along now boy."

**No! I don't want to!**

A voice from the other side of the screen interrupted the lady with its deep and intellectual tone. Naruto jumped to his feet with a start, obedience already programmed into his brain. His sensei had concluded his business in the harlot's house and it was now time to leave. "I have to go." He said hastily, dodging around the table and giving one last glance to the lady. "Goodbye."

**Don't make me leave!**

The lady gave him one last smile and did the same. "Farewell."

**DON'T LEAVE ME!**

* * *

The waking dream ended with that strained scream and reality clawed back into Naruto's consciousness. As if surfacing from the depths he found himself choking and struggling to breathe. He fell to his knees, gasping and wheezing while lights danced before his eyes. All he could see was the dirt and his own gloves, one blood red and the other dirtied by the earth.

Why? Why had such an inconsequential memory been tainted by horrific thoughts? For what reason was an apparition of his history so insignificant that he had forgotten it completely, haunted by such desperate? And why, oh god why, did those cries sound exactly like his own voice?

The blood on his glove anchored him to the moment and reminded him that now was not the time to fret over warped recollections. He struggled to push himself up, and through his efforts became aware again of the burning pain in his arm. But not only that, there was a wooziness that had to be the blood loss. He was in a bad position, perhaps on the verge of unconsciousness. That wouldn't do at all. He was in danger and had to act.

He concentrated his efforts and called upon his anger. It wasn't difficult. Confusion was easy to twist into disdain. This damn mission was supposed to be just a slight challenge higher! It wasn't supposed to be like this! He'd allied himself to Konoha to preserve his life, not throw it away on something so god damned worthless as that old man!

Control. The Kyuubi's chakra was coming through, and with it the malice that threatened to strip his reason. It was also easy to direct anger to the fox. If not for it, he would never have faced the troubles he'd faced already. That reason gave him clarity and allowed him to focus. He channelled the Kyuubi's chakra into the seals on his arms and felt them doing their work. Within seconds he felt the influence of the Kyuubi being dragged away and the pain in his arm subsiding. Though still feeling dizzy, after a time passed his wound was no longer bothering him. A quick check confirmed that there was in fact no wound to speak of. As it ought to be.

With the threat of blood loss taking his life now gone, Naruto managed to drag himself off the ground and too his feet. It was not a simple effort. He swayed and staggered, not sure of where he was in relation to the ground. Was up down or was left right? It took some time to gather that. When he was finally lucid enough to make those distinctions, he turned around.

No one was standing. No one was moving. Sakura lay beside Meizo and Sasuke was strewn within some bushes, not far from where Gozu could be found in a heap. Tazuna was slumped against a tree, just as unconscious as the other two Genin were. And Kakashi was...

Perhaps Naruto wasn't as balanced as he thought he was. He found himself falling to his knees, his eyes no longer able to fixate upon the present, yet somehow incapable of drawing themselves away from the bodies in front of him. The stench of blood was still fresh and nauseating. And still sickeningly familiar. They were dead. All of them dead. And he was alone.

"Ta-" he tried to speak, but his mouth was too dry. He sucked on his tongue to try and gather some saliva, and found himself able to avert his gaze from the bodies by looking to the sky. His eyes were wide, and nowhere near as dry as his mouth was. Before a single tear dared to shed, he tried again to speak. "Take it away!"

As to embrace the will of whatever being he spoke to, his body stilled blissfully to some near invisible effect. There was a trace to be found of something going on. It was within those wide eyes. The sclera seemed to darken just a shade or two and Naruto's expression blanked. The white became grey for just a few seconds before pulling away entirely and returning to normal. When that happened, Naruto slumped. He did not appear to be distraught. In fact... he seemed rather calm.

Therefore he was perfectly aware enough to notice the sounds of movement in the foliage.

Leaping to his feet, Naruto glowered out into the shrubbery where he heard the disruption. Now was not a good time to approach him. His blood levels were not at their best and he was tired from the previous encounter. But there was no longer any need to restrain himself. If the cause of the noise was another assassin, he was both ready and willing to unleash the power of-

It was Kakashi.

Disbelief surged into Naruto as he saw his sensei climb out of the bushes. That disbelief turned to mistrust when he recalled seeing his sensei go up in smoke. If there were any way to get to him, it would be like this. "Your penmanship is below average and you prefer wide open areas to enclosed spaces." Kakashi could read Naruto's expression in an instant and was in no mood for song and dance.

Naruto could feel the tension leaving his muscles. He believed in the man before him, believed that he was indeed Hatake Kakashi. This belief allowed some solace of mind that at least one of his comrades was alive. No, maybe he had been mistaken. In his anguish and haste he had only glanced at his team mates. There wasn't much hope inside of him, but it would be foolish of him to deny the possibility.

Kakashi soon discovered himself what Naruto had learned in his return to lucidity. Unlike Naruto however he had not jumped to immediate conclusions. He signalled for Naruto to check up on Sakura while he looked in on Sasuke. He found the Uchiha in the bushes, looking to be quite dishevelled from the encounter. A quick vitals check and such confirmed that there were no obvious dangers to Sasuke's life. By the look of things he had just been knocked out.

"_But why would he just be unconscious?"_ Kakashi thought while he lifted Sasuke out from the bushes and sat him down against a tree. _"The demon brothers were equipped to kill and wouldn't leave their opponent's alive..."_ he looked at the two ninja in question and saw that he had missed out on quite a few things. _"They're both dead... but if they died, how did Sasuke lose consciousness? And Tazuna too..."_

As Kakashi considered the mystery that was in front of him Naruto knelt in the pool of blood to check on Sakura. To his relief she was indeed still alive, though just as lacking in wakefulness as the other half of the group. Removing his filthy gloves Naruto checked Sakura's pulse. She was still warm, and after a second of searching he confirmed a steady heartbeat. Not quite sure of what to do next, he put his hand on his shoulder and gently tried to stir her. "Hey... Sakura!"

Faintly, very faintly, Sakura felt Naruto's hand and heard his voice. She could also feel something strangely wet and warm on her face. After a short time it came to her that she was not in the position she ought to be in given the circumstances she last recalled. Wearily she began to open her eyes to see what was going on.

Her vision was filled with the deathly visage of the killed Meizu.

Like a peal of thunder Sakura shrieked and writhed to get away from the soulless, staring eyes of the dead Shinobi. Blood splashed on her face as she crawled away as far as she could manage before a tree stopped her. Yet even from her greater distance the clarity of what she'd seen was burned into her retina. She covered her face with her hands and quivered in fear.

The sight of Sakura in such a wrecked state rattled something deep inside Naruto that he couldn't understand. Without telling his body to do it he hurried in front of his team mate, kneeling between her and the body of Meizu. Sakura had realised the blood on her skin and was desperately trying and failing to wipe it off, all the while whimpering incoherently to herself.

"Saku- SAKURA!" Naruto grabbed Sakura's head and forced her to look him in the eyes. She fixed hers on his and showed recognition enough to prove him that she had not gone completely mad. The sight of him clearly did some good for her, for she stopped trying to wipe the blood away and just stared at him, doing her best to replace the thoughts that kept seeping into her mind with his face. To focus on him and not the dead Shinobi.

As much as Naruto knew that having something else to focus on was helping Sakura, he wished that Kakashi had chosen to check on her and left Sasuke to him. The look on Sakura's face was doing something strange to him. The fear in her eyes and the blood on her face, the way her mouth twisted and her body trembled. It was hurting him. He hated having to look at this face. He couldn't begin to comprehend why.

Though Sakura was finding some escape, she was still trembling and rubbing her hands. The action gave Naruto thought for something to do and some way that he could look away from Sakura without moving aside. He let go of her and reached for his back, pulling out his water canteen and digging his handkerchief out of his breast pocket. As he did these things, he found his mood changing.

"Let me do it." He poured water over his handkerchief and took Sakura's hands. She continued to watch him. As her nerve returned to her she started to study his face. The placid way he went about wiping off the blood, the serene look on his face, it wasn't the kind of air she knew Naruto to carry, even considering his hobby. The feeling of his hands touching hers made her very uncomfortable, but Naruto didn't seem to think anything of it and continued to thoroughly clean away. But when he cleaned the handkerchief with more water and tried to wash her face... that was too much.

"I can do that!" she snapped before she realised it and grabbed the handkerchief from Naruto's hand. She started rubbing the cloth against her cheek, trying not to smell the blood that couldn't be washed off of it by poured water alone. Naruto moved back a little, but he continued to watch her, staring at her like she had stared at him. Guiltily Sakura realised how rude she'd been. "Sorry... thank you."

The corners of Naruto's lips moved up in an insincere smile. It didn't bother Sakura that she knew this was insincere. She didn't imagine _she_ could give a genuine smile at a time like this either. The fact that Naruto was able to keep it together like he was now was astounding to her. He was the one with the arm soaked in his own blood. Even as she tried to stay strong she couldn't ignore that she could feel herself shrinking away from it. Naruto had really received the... worst... what?

"Your wound... it's gone?!" she frowned and almost reached out to get a look at Naruto's arm. Where Meizu had sliced his skin open, there was now nothing more than blood stains and the tattoo underneath it. "He slashed you! I saw it!"

Kakashi, who was in the middle of checking up on Tazuna, looked over his shoulder as he heard that. There was certainly a lot of blood on Naruto's arm, and the cuts on his shirt made it clear as to what had happened. But there really was no injury there for him to see. _"Could it be the Kyuubi's healing... no... wait."_ He narrowed his eye at the tattoo on Naruto's arm. Something about it was peculiar. _"Is that Fuinjutsu?!"_

"Ow..."

Kakashi turned back around as Tazuna began to awaken. The bridge builder, like Sasuke, had possessed no visible injuries to worry about. He had just been unconscious. Tazuna looked up at Kakashi with a squint, not sure if he could believe what he was seeing. "Thought you were dead." He murmured. He tried to move, but an ache stopped him. "Ouch!" he began rubbing the back of his neck. "Did someone clock me?"

Kakashi stayed silent. So Tazuna also believed he'd been hit from behind. The first case, himself, was a matter he could perhaps rule out. The second case, here, made it almost impossible. If he could confirm it one more time-

"Are you hurt?"

It was Naruto who posed the question, to Sakura, as Kakashi saw. She, like Tazuna, was rubbing the back of her neck. And now the evidence was clear. Kakashi got up and headed over to Sasuke to wake him up. He didn't need to do anything however. It seemed that everyone's voices had helped to stir the young Uchiha from his sleep.

The first thing Sasuke did was reach around to massage his neck. "...Did someone-"

"Knock you out?" Kakashi finished the sentence for him. "Seems like it."

The sound of his sensei's voice snapped Sasuke's attention up to Kakashi. He couldn't believe what he was seeing. "Kakashi- I saw you..."

With a sigh and a nod Kakashi reached out to take Sasuke's hand and help him up to his feet. He glanced around and saw that Naruto was going the same for Sakura, who was much more reluctant in accepting his help. When Tazuna came to join the converging group, everyone was together. And it was time for some explanations. But first he had a couple of questions.

"Naruto, were you knocked out too?"

As one who had no idea what was going on in Kakashi's head, Naruto could only exhibit confusion at the question. But he had to reason that though he couldn't claim to have been in present mind, he did come back to reality on his feet. Not down on the ground like everyone else. So in response, the only answer he felt he could give was a shake of the head.

That wasn't what Kakashi was hoping to learn. Just as Naruto didn't know what was going on in his head, he didn't know that Naruto hadn't been lucid the whole time. In other words, to Kakashi, Naruto was the only one who had not lost consciousness. He didn't want to start making accusations, but things weren't looking very good right now.

"And what about the demon brothers?" Kakashi looked between the two dead shinobi. The cause of death in Meizu was clear. A wound through the chest and back. If he had to assume what dealt the blow, he would guess the katana lying in the pool of blood. Gozu on the other hand was a different matter. A quick look confirmed that _he_ had died of a broken neck. That was every bit as strange, but for completely different reasons. "How did you beat them?"

No one hurried to answer that question. But he got part of it anyway when Sakura glanced nervously Naruto's way. That just about confirmed Kakashi's concerns. Naruto was the only one who had not been knocked out. He was also the one who owned the blade that had killed one of the demon brothers. Any halfwit detective would know who to accuse from that evidence alone. But Kakashi made no accusations, because though there was evidence against Naruto, there were also inconsistencies to consider.

Kakashi left the group to inspect the bodies more closely. He had some more questions in mind. Questions he could answer through simple investigations. Questions like "How could a Genin run a Chunin through with a blade as long as a katana?" and, presuming that Naruto's wound had been the reason he dropped the blade; "how did he break another Chunin's neck with one arm disabled?".

"My sword!"

Naruto broke Kakashi's thought process by yelling such a thing and running over to him. Before he could tell Naruto not to contaminate the scene, Naruto had already grabbed the katana. The fraught look on his face as he stared at his bloodied blade was like nothing anyone had seen on him before. "Damn it!" he complained. "This was a gift from my sensei!"

Sakura tried to make the same approach, but she couldn't get as near to the blood and corpse as Kakashi and Naruto were able to. She did however manage to get across an odd expression that was by some means both apologetic and unapologetic at the same time. "I-I didn't know that!" she exclaimed, jumping to the defensive. "I needed something to use against his claw, so I just grabbed it!"

Kakashi frowned at them both. "Hold on, so it was _you_ who had the katana?"

Naruto gave out a heavy sigh and started wiping off the blood from the blade itself with the now thoroughly stained handkerchief. "This will come off after some cleaning." After a few seconds of such effort Naruto sheathed the blade and looked at Sakura with a half smile. "Don't worry about it. It was silly of me to carry around a heavy piece of decoration in the first place."

While those two exchanged faint, half hearted pleasantries that Kakashi had to note was nice and all, he was presented with even more questions than before. He turned to Meizu's body and after taking a second to look it over he grabbed it and turned it on its back. And that was when he saw the killing wound itself. Three holes just below the ribcage, angled slightly upward. Kakashi turned the body the other way and found holes lined up in the same fashion. However... they were smaller.

"_Impaled through the heart in three places."_ Kakashi straightened up and followed his students back to the circle, his eye never leaving Naruto's back. _"If Sakura's implication is still true, then Naruto dealt that blow. How? There's no way he's adept enough in controlling the Kyuubi to make wounds as neat and precise as those were. And if he had gone that far, Gozu wouldn't have died by a broken neck. And I doubt he could have knocked out the rest of the group without someone seeing and remembering that he did it."_

"The last thing I remember before I got knocked out was the ninja that I was fighting screaming after his brother died." Sasuke captured the attentions of the group in an instant. "I could see my opponent, Naruto, Sakura and the dead ninja when I was knocked out." He turned his head to Tazuna. "_He's_ the only one I couldn't see."

And like a lead weight falling down on Team Seven, all scrutiny fell upon Tazuna. The old man was in the midst of rubbing his neck when the heated looks started heading his way. He stilled and met each of their gazes, looking between them like he was looking at a pack of wolves. The gears started to turn and he quickly became quite affronted with all four of the ninja before him.

"Yeah alright, ya got me!" he began to yell and make wild gestures to himself and Team Seven alike. "I ran around this whole place karate chopping everyone I could find! I admit it! This sixty year old man right here is really a martial arts master!" as if to demonstrate he took on a stance that a half dead squirrel could break through. "And after I killed that ninja over there I pretended to get knocked out myself! You wanna know why I'd do such a thing?" and then all of a sudden he stopped rambling and outright shouted. "THAT'S WHAT I'D LIKE TO DAMN WELL KNOW!"

"Alright Tazuna-san, please settle down!" Kakashi raised his hands in passive surrender to the bridge builder's point. "If you had the ability to do all that our sensor ninjas would have detected you during the screening process. And besides, you were with everyone else when I was knocked out, so there's no way it could be you!"

There was distrust in Tazuna's eyes, but he settled down as asked with a gruff "harrumph". In the peace that came with it Team Seven were able to gather their thoughts and properly think about what had happened. Though there was no way anyone other than Kakashi could hope to reach a viable conclusion without the evidence he had uncovered thus far. Evidence he deemed to share.

"This is the chain of events as I understand them." Kakashi looked back to the blackened mark on the ground where he'd been standing at the start of this conflict. "The demon brothers clearly weren't experienced in the application of explosives, because they put enough in that one mine to take down a small building. The explosion knocked me into the trees, where it seems that I was knocked unconscious by a waiting party. With me presumably dead, the Demon Brothers assaulted you all. During the conflict Naruto was wounded but managed to defeat one of the brothers. Immediately afterward the party that knocked me out took the rest of you down, Naruto excluded, and proceeded to kill the other Demon Brother. Naruto, if you could please do your trick?"

It was easy to figure out what trick Kakashi was talking about, though Naruto didn't exactly like hearing it reduced to such a thing. Nonetheless he put his hands together and focused a high enough concentration of chakra into the crab seal and utilised the Sonar Technique. His chakra echoed out in every direction, hitting and igniting his team mates within his senses, causing a very faint glow around Tazuna and barely reacting to the corpses of the Demon Brothers at all. The chakra then expanded out to its farthest radius, until it reached the point where it became too diluted to do anything but dissipate into nothingness.

"There's no one out there." He finally stated.

Kakashi nodded, his suspicions confirmed. The mysterious party wouldn't stay and risk being discovered. Their motives were unclear. For whose sake did they intervene like they did? Were there more like the Demon Brothers lying in wait? Would they encounter the mysterious party again? Far too many questions for Kakashi to ignore. The mission was becoming too complex.

"Sensei."

Kakashi looked over his shoulder to Tazuna, who had closed in to speak quietly to him. "I need to speak with you in private." Was all he said, before he headed away from the group and towards the trees. Kakashi watched him for a few seconds. Even though the old man was basically clear of suspicion, he certainly acted like he had something to hide.

The group broke apart altogether then when Kakashi followed after Tazuna and left the Genin to their own devices. They watched their sensei and client engage in discussions they couldn't hope to eavesdrop on. They didn't even try, so they instead moved on to different things.

Naruto headed off toward the bushes, pulling his backpack off and setting it down on the ground. He was glad he packed some spare clothes. There was no way he could walk around looking like a maimed war victim. He put himself in enough cover that he could undress without making anyone else uncomfortable. The last thing the tense air needed was for someone to get mad at him over something so simple.

"Hey."

Apparently privacy was not a guarantee however. Naruto didn't divert his actions from the current task, but neither did he ignore Sasuke's call. "Sakura had a bit of an unpleasant awakening." He pulled off his waistcoat and checked it for blood stains. Thankfully the stains seemed to be only on his shirt, glove and boot. "You get along with her much better than I do. Perhaps you should go talk to her."

Sasuke had taken to leaning against the tree Naruto was using for privacy. He looked over to Sakura and saw her rummaging through her backpack. Had he not known her as much as he did, he might not have noticed that she was indeed not at her best right now. "Sakura doesn't talk about anything she doesn't want to." He continued to watch her from afar. "What about you? How are you holding up?"

Naruto paused in the middle of peeling off his shirt. He didn't say anything until he resumed that motion and ridded himself of the filthy garment. "I'm glad to say this isn't my first time seeing a dead body." He bundled the shirt up and stared at it, wondering what to do with an item as easy to pick up a trail from as this. "However this is the first time I've had to take a life. I wish I'd had the presence of mind to take it all in. I'll regret not doing so the next time I have to kill someone."

Sasuke winced at Naruto's logic. It wasn't that it bothered. It was a sense of reason that was obvious to him now, but one that had never crossed his mind. He had never expected to need such logic at this point in his ninja career. But this wasn't about him. As a guy he knew when guys put on brave faces for the sake of their pride, and this right now felt a lot like that. He had to decide if he was going to respect Naruto's pride, or push harder.

Under any other circumstances he wouldn't have hesitated to go with the former. He disliked getting involved with matters he could avoid. But Naruto had raised an issue, even if he hadn't intended to. There was still a gap between the team. At least where Naruto was involved. In time Sasuke had come to take some admission of guilt for that. He'd been willing to let Naruto act as he liked and decide what he wanted from the team. A mistake, he was starting to think.

"You were doing pretty well. With Sakura I mean." The more he thought something needed to be said, the more he realised he had no idea what to say. "That technique you used. It's the same one from when you were brought in to the police station, wasn't it?"

Naruto had still been considering his shirt when Sasuke asked him that. He came up with the somewhat unsettling idea of washing the shirt in Meizu's blood to remove any hope of a trace being followed, if there was someone who might follow such a trace. "The Sonar Technique." Naruto explained, rolling the bloodied part of the shirt inside the not bloody part and grabbing the clean one from out of his bag. "I can use it to see things that have chakra, even through walls."

Sasuke turned his head Naruto's way as the blond boy began getting dressed again. "Wow... do you think you could show me how to use it?" he asked. A technique like that would never _not_ be useful, he thought.

This question didn't even slow Naruto as he began buttoning up his shirt. Nor was there any reason for him to think about his response. "No." He could tell that Sasuke wasn't giving him a happy expression even without looking his way. "That jutsu is a Hiden technique of the Uzumaki clan."

Sasuke's frown deepened. "The Uzumaki clan?"

"You've never heard of us?" for this Naruto did give a curious look. "We share blood with the Senju clan. Our insignia is imprinted on the back of every flak vest in Konoha." Sasuke quickly checked Kakashi's back, confirming the oddity that Naruto was beginning to see. He pulled on his waistcoat and disregarded it. "I suppose it's not so strange. We were all but wiped out during the Shinobi World Wars. My sensei, the one who raised me, and I could very well be the last two living Uzumaki in the world."

For this Sasuke fell silent. He'd had no idea that such a clan existed, never mind that it was so connected with Konoha that their symbol was still respected by the village today. An empty feeling grew inside of him the more he thought about it. Having your entire clan wiped out, to be one of the only ones left... was unimaginable for him.

With no further inquiry from Sasuke Naruto finished getting dressed and gathered up his things. He stepped out from behind the tree looking almost exactly as he had when he first stepped out of the village, with the exception of his gloves, of which he had no spares with him. He turned his eyes to Sasuke, who had rooted his to the ground. There was a desire within Naruto to say something, though he no idea why.

"I'm a Survivor." Sasuke looked up at him as he explained this. "I am the only living Uzumaki with any source to the knowledge and abilities my clan possessed. It's my duty to live at all costs to make sure the secrets I keep aren't lost forever, or worse, fall in the hands of those who don't deserve them. That's why I became a ninja."

Now that he had said it, he really had to wonder what the merit to the effort was. If anything it was a risk to tell anyone about that aspect of him or his goal. Well, it was said, and there was nothing he could do about it. He gave Sasuke a faint nod and walked back towards the rest of the group. Or he would have, had Sasuke not grabbed him by the shoulder.

Looking curiously at the Uchiha, he found Sasuke to seem quite serious. But he didn't look Naruto in the eye, more content to stare off into the distance. At first it didn't appear that he even knew what to say. But then he started talking.

"The Uchiha clan also share blood with the Senju."

That was it. That was all he had to say. He let go of Naruto's arm and just stood there for a little while in silence. Naruto watched him at this, reading his expression and searching for something buried underneath his words. Whatever he thought he found, it looked like he was content with it. He gave Sasuke a rough pat on the arm gestured that they should return to the group.

As they made this return Sakura noticed them and put her pack away. She looked at them both as she straightened up, feeling faint relief that Naruto didn't look as bloodied as he did before. After taking that in she looked at their faces and saw that they were more staid than they had been thus far. She wasn't sure why, but she felt herself falling in line with their mood and joined them in returning to Kakashi and Tazuna.

Apparently they had chosen their moment well, for it was then that Kakashi turned to them and said; "We have to talk."

* * *

Three black crows sat on the branch of a tree, overlooking the gathering beneath them with their dark, soulless eyes. They studied the pile of meet beneath them, the blood attracting them towards it. But they could not tell if the living things not far from it were predators. And so the crows waited, cautious, but hungry.

The group had been silent for all of a few minutes since Tazuna had finished talking. In order to let everything sink in Kakashi had given them this time to think about it all. About Tazuna's deception, the mark on his head and the strife in Wave Country. Kakashi had posed for them a single, simple question. A question that continued to circle through their minds even now.

"What do you want to do?"

For Sasuke the misdemeanour Tazuna had committed against them and Konoha was only a slight compared to the grander picture. A country in dire need of aid was allowed to act out of desperation, he felt. In the same position he knew he'd use any means possible to get what was needed. To him it came down to whether or not he wanted to risk his life for something that wasn't his responsibility.

Sakura on the other hand couldn't ignore what Tazuna had done to them. The danger he had put them in by not telling them the whole story. She firmly believed that had Tazuna explained himself to the Hokage that some arrangement could have been made. Though he complained about getting a Genin team, it didn't cross his mind to tell the truth in the hope of getting something better. He had been willing to gamble their lives. But that said, she couldn't ignore the actions of Gato either.

Kakashi could only amass vague notions of these feelings from the looks on Sasuke and Sakura's faces. He was glad to see that they were both thinking it through seriously, weighing their lives against Wave Country in a sensible enough fashion. Personally he wanted to do what he could for Wave, but he had a responsibility to his team and he wouldn't force them unless they wanted to do it. This was why he couldn't help feeling concern when he looked at Naruto.

He clearly didn't want to do it.

Wave Country was a small, insignificant place that could offer little in return for their salvation. Salvation that would come at the risk of his own life. He would be gambling his life for little to no reward, when his purpose of becoming a Shinobi was to protect himself at all costs. As it stood there was absolutely no reason whatsoever for him to agree to such a waste of time. That was Naruto's perspective.

"I'm in."

Sasuke voiced his consent to the mission ahead without and shred of doubt or misgiving on his face at all. He looked Kakashi in the eye as he gave this announcement to prove there was no such concern to be found within him. He was not alone in this gesture, for Sakura spoke up a few seconds later with the same message.

"So am I."

A grin came upon Tazuna's face and relief filled him. The same couldn't be said of Kakashi, though he did feel pride at his two good natured students. But in the end it came down to Naruto. He refused to risk the whole team if one of them didn't want to do it. Especially one whose loyalties were as shaky as his. And by the look on Naruto's face right now, he wasn't convinced by either of his team mates' support.

"_Heroes."_ Naruto hid his bitterness from them both, for they, like Kakashi and Tazuna, were watching him, waiting for his response. Such self sacrifice was the height of stupidity. They could barely hold their own against two Chunin, and were helped by some foreign power. Did they honestly think they could do anything against Gato and the rest of the goons he undoubtedly had? They were only going to get themselves killed. For that, he had to sigh. "I'm with you."

Being on a team was not conducive to a safe life, it would appear.

* * *

Later, on the border between Fire Country and Wave Country, Team Seven found themselves being rowed across the water. As if they were immigrants seeking refuge in a foreign land, they were asked to keep low and quiet as the rower did his best to keep them all safe from notice. According to Tazuna, Gato had men watching the waterways for exactly this sort of thing.

The journey was silent. Everyone understood the risk and kept up a constant vigilance even now against possible assailants. That said, the small boat didn't allow them many options for defence if such a thing should transpire. They were all very anxious to get back on dry land where they would have more options.

Naruto sat at the front of the boat, watching the rear past the rest of the group. Due to this everyone else was looking his way, always casting glances at him when they thought he wouldn't notice. But every time they tried he met their gazes in a second. Well, that wasn't true. Kakashi didn't look directly at Naruto. His ability to see with his peripherals was strong enough to take away such a need.

Right now Kakashi was feeling quite uneasy. There was something he had been putting off for a while now in the hope that he'd get a private moment with Naruto. But it didn't look like such a moment would come to them any time soon. Now may not be the best time, he thought, but he couldn't say that leaving it until later would be any better.

"There's something I need to discuss with you three." He said, keeping his voice low enough that the rower could focus on his task. "None of you should have needed to take a life so early in your career. But now that it's done you need to take care of any damage that it may have caused."

None of the Genin said anything. Naruto had been on edge for hours now, and Sakura had become quite fidgety since they left the obscured corpses of the Demon Brothers. Sasuke had been able to avoid witnessing the killing, but ever since then he'd been avoiding witnessing anything of Naruto. Neither he nor Sakura could come to terms with the fact that their team mate had taken a life.

"This is what it means to be a ninja, isn't it?"

Everyone looked at Naruto. Now he didn't meet any of their gazes. Kakashi could see by the look in his eyes that Naruto was more troubled than he was letting on. He was willing to bet that the boy had never killed in his life before. _"That's a relief."_ He thought. It was a sign that Naruto's past life hadn't turned him into the sociopath some were worried he'd become. But he needed to correct that perspective of his.

"You're only partially right. Being a ninja means being prepared to do whatever it takes to accomplish whatever task has been set out to you. If that task involves killing, then you must be ready to do it. But that's not what being a ninja is about. Ninjas exist to do what the rest of the world can't. To maintain stability in a world that can overwhelm the common person. We all take on burdens that are bigger than us. Some more than others."

Sakura and Sasuke looked at Kakashi, wondering just what he was talking about with that final comment. Naruto too met his sensei's eyes, though there was no confusion lying in there. He knew what Kakashi was talking about, even if neither of them could outright say it. And strange though it was, he felt a reluctant sense of appreciation for it. Kakashi continued.

"When your life is on the line it's easy to rationalise away what you had to do. But you won't always have that excuse." He really wished he'd taken a Genin team prior to this one so he could have some experience in talking about such things. "There will be times when you're tasked with killing someone who's of no threat to you. At that time you'll have to premeditate every second that brings you closer to ending that person's life. When those times come you have to be careful not to lose yourself, or else who knows what you might become."

His team was giving him the same rough look that told him they were not the least bit reassured by what he was telling him. He was starting to worry that he was going to pass on some half baked advice that could do more damage than good. Perhaps this was what he had to do overcome the rut Rin was referring to.

"What I'm about to tell you isn't nice by any means. But it could save your life when the time comes." It was hard not to sound hollow when he spoke his next few words, for they brought on cold memories in Kakashi's mind. "Some Shinobi prefer to call their targets "deaders". They are nothing more than corpses that have yet to cease their actions. There is no reason to feel concern for that which is already dead."

He decided to leave it at that for now, to allow his students to process this and hopefully come to terms with the idea. It was no surprise that they were still discontented... for the most part. Understandably enough Naruto was starting to relax somewhat. Thinking that Meizu had already been dead before Naruto killed him probably made the ordeal a little easier to bear.

But though Naruto could find some solace in that, the same couldn't be said for the others. "Is that all it takes for a ninja to kill?" Sakura's brow was crumpled in a troubled frown as she stared off to the starboard side.

"It goes against the ninja code to put any more thought into it." Kakashi explained simply, but with understanding of his student's concern. "The ninja code exists so that ninja can operate properly. Being afraid of taking lives doesn't do us any good, so we abandon that fear, even at the cost of our other emotions. It's up to you how much of yourself you have to put away in order to do the darker deeds we ninja face. All you can do then is try not to lose those parts of yourself completely." He looked each of his students in the eye. "Being a ninja isn't easy, but it's worth doing. Remember why you chose this path."

None of his students made any further enquiries, and Kakashi had nothing more to add. The group fell into silence again as everyone resumed their posts. It was Sasuke who kept his attention to the bow of the boat, watching where they were going. As such Naruto was irrevocably in his line of sight, just like he was on the mind.

A strange boy from outside the village that joined the final year and became one of the top students in no time at all. His mere presence in the village had brought shock and anxiety to his mother and father both; neither of whom had said a word to Sasuke as to who Naruto was. And now today with a display Sasuke had never thought he'd see. That same boy took on a wound that should have killed him. And yet here he was with nothing more to show for it than a shredded sleeve soaked in blood and the distant expression of one who's memories were keeping him somewhere he didn't want to be.

"_There is a reason you don't know who Uzumaki Naruto is. For his sake more than anyone else's, please respect that."_

His brother's voice came back to his mind. At one point when Sasuke had asked his mother about Naruto, Itachi had been there to hear the exchange. Afterward he found Sasuke and said that to him, before departing for another mission. That explanation hadn't satisfied Sasuke in the slightest however. If Naruto's real identity was such a big deal that his own team mates couldn't know it, then it had to be bigger than Sasuke could even imagine. Letting something like that go would be the stupidest decision that Sasuke could ever make.

But he had to consider what he _had_ learned of Naruto the day before. Of the burden he carried and the path he wished to walk. Was his status as one of the last Uzumaki enough to warrant the perceptions his family and undoubtedly several others seemed to hold about them? Or was there something more, something to do with those secrets Naruto claimed to hold? Sasuke couldn't shake the feeling of unease. Should he continue to invade Naruto's privacy in case there was something he needed to know? Or should he respect the wishes of the village higher ups, and Naruto himself, to leave the matter alone?

"We're almost there." Alerted the rower.

* * *

Once they stepped out of the reeds and into the trees Team Seven really began to appreciate the more subtle differences between Wave Country and Fire Country. It wasn't quite so warm, and there was a constant dampness in the air. Still there was nothing really to complain about. They'd gotten plenty of sleep at the waterfront inn back in Fire Country, and the day was just beginning. They were at their best and ready for any encounter that might come their way.

Since Naruto had never visited Wave Country there was no special reason for keeping him up front. For that purpose Kakashi chose to change the formation to switch Naruto and Sakura around. It didn't hurt their range of awareness any, but more than that it allowed for Kakashi to quietly ask the questions he'd been thinking about for nearly a day now. He'd have asked those questions at the inn, but it was only now that Naruto was starting to look like he was in the mood to answer.

"I was wondering if you would feel comfortable telling me about those seals on your arms." Kakashi didn't dance around the issue, but he kept a delicate hand. "I understand that they're probably Uzumaki secrets, but if it affects you-know-what, then I don't think it would be for the best to keep it to yourself."

"You're right."

Kakashi had to stop himself from doing a double take. Naruto made no change in expression or even a casual glance in Kakashi's direction. But he did go on to explain himself. "They _are_ Uzumaki secrets." Kakashi's surprise left him immediately. So Naruto was going to be obstinate about this. "That's not exactly the attitude that someone aspiring to become a Fuinjutsu master should have, correct?"

At that time Naruto looked at his sensei with a smile unlike what he had shown to Kakashi before. It carried with it a much more dignified air, without sacrificing the sharpness that could always be found in his eyes. "Well, not if you want to stick to that time limit you mentioned. With something like that you need every inch you can get."

"Mm." Naruto nodded placidly and looked ahead to his team mates, wondering if they were listening in on this exchange. Once confident they had their privacy, Naruto began to unbutton and roll up the sleeve of his spare shirt in order to show Kakashi the design on his arm. "It's official name is the "Replication Array". When first activated it studies the way chakra changes and learns to mimic the process. Thanks to... "you know what", I have an unnatural healing ability. I trust you understand the rest?"

Kakashi understood why Naruto didn't want to give a complete explanation. It was one thing to refer to the Kyuubi as "you know what", but going into the more complex machinations would at the very least narrow down the possibilities, and like it or not they couldn't risk Sasuke or Sakura finding out about the fox. Besides, Kakashi understood the gist of it.

"So basically when you use _that_ mode you can force that healing ability to increase. That's pretty cunning."

Naruto deflated a little as he rolled down his sleeve to cover his seal and tattoo again. "Cunning." He vacantly repeated. "When my sensei confirmed that it worked he said that I could get stabbed a dozen times and it wouldn't matter. Training became a much more difficult experience after that."

Kakashi could no longer keep his eye off his student or his mind away from the life that Naruto must have lived. Anger seethed inside of him at the thought of his sensei's child being left in the hands of such a man.

"If I'd known you would have gone through all that, I would have volunteered to be the one to take you out of the village."

For a second Naruto seemed to falter as he resisted the urge to look at Kakashi. All of a sudden the atmosphere was changing into something he didn't like, something that made him very uncomfortable. Just like that time with that prostitute so many years ago. Too similar in fact. Why did people always seem to think that he needed comforting?

Normally Naruto would feel irritated, but he couldn't muster up the will to go through with it. It was meaningless to think about what ifs. The present exists because the past created it. He was who he was because of his parents, the Godaime Hokage, his sensei and the Kyuubi. But if he had to say who he owed himself to the most, there was absolutely no question about it. He need only look to the seals on his arms.

"_You saved me again, you old bastard."_ He thought with a forlorn smile.

Not knowing what was going through Naruto's head, Kakashi could only reach conclusions from what he saw. The flicker of a smile on Naruto's lips looked like a good sign to him, though he didn't want to assume. But with Naruto in an open mood as it seemed, Kakashi chose to go ahead and ask another question. "That wound you inflicted upon the enemy yesterday-"

The smile disappeared in a heartbeat. Kakashi stopped mid sentence when he saw the turn of Naruto's posture from open to closed tighter than a bank vault. "That shouldn't have happened." Naruto imparted. "It has nothing to do with Fuinjutsu and I hope that no one ever has to see it again. So please forget about it."

There was a resolution in Naruto's request that as a man Kakashi could not ignore. Of course it made sense. Whatever technique he'd used was now and forever more a killing technique in his eyes, if it wasn't already before. In a way Kakashi was glad of it. His students understood that killing was necessary, but Naruto was the only one who had actually done it. That he showed no desire to do so again was a very good sign, Jinchuuriki or not.

"If that's what you really want then I won't press it further." He would let the matter drop after he said this bit. "But as your sensei it's important that I know your full capacities. When we return to the village I'd like a full demonstration of what you can do. There's no problem with that, is there?"

The response wasn't immediate, and there was no question why. Naruto obviously guarded his secrets closely, which as a ninja made complete sense. But that level of protectiveness could be a danger when it kept one from being honest with his team. Fortunately Naruto showed understanding of this enough, for he gave a nod of consent to the request. Kakashi mimicked the gesture.

At the head of the group Sasuke and Sakura were trying to listen in on what their sensei and team mate were discussing, but they could only catch snippets of it. They were able to ascertain however that there were things about Naruto that not even Kakashi knew about. The two of them glanced at each other when they came to this conclusion and shared the same thought. They wanted to be there to see that demonstration.

Perhaps it was merely perceived, but they both were more guarded today than they were even yesterday. There was something about the trees that put them off. A strange, clingy sensation that hung over them like a cold blanket. The closer they got to their destination the more nervous they became. Kakashi had suggested that if they were to be attacked again, it would not be by Chunin like before.

In a vain attempt to drive away the growing apprehension, Sasuke opened a line of discussion with Sakura. "I was thinking that if this Gato guy really is the ring leader of this whole operation, then maybe it would be a better idea to track him down and make him call off the contract he's got on Tazuna's head." Just as Kakashi and Naruto were doing, he kept his voice low so only Sakura could offer input. "We could find out his location from the nearest shipping yard and work from there."

Sakura gave his suggestion some clear thought. Anything that could possibly get her to where Gato would be was not something she would ignore. "If he's hiring Chunin and Jonin rank ninja to do his dirty work, there's no telling what kind of guards he has." She pointed out. "We'd also have to split the team in half to make sure Tazuna was still guarded. I think we'd be spreading ourselves too thin then."

Noticing that his other students had started talking among themselves, Kakashi saw that he now had an opportunity to talk to Naruto about something else that was bothering him. "Now that it's too late to turn back, I'm curious." Naruto was listening dubiously to his sensei's unusually relaxed manner of speaking. "Why didn't you agree to go ahead with this mission?"

Just as quickly as Naruto glanced at his sensei, he turned his head away again. He'd been hoping to avoid that question since successfully evading it yesterday. But it looked like it was not in Kakashi's nature to let details like that slip him by, and nor was it Naruto's to pile on the excuses. If Kakashi wasn't going to let it go, he wasn't going to put up a fight. Though his reason embarrassed him.

"I don't want-"

Naruto stopped dead in his tracks, his expression falling and his body stiffening. Kakashi came to a halt beside him, with Sasuke noticing the pause and gesturing for Tazuna and Sakura to stop too. At the look on Naruto's face Kakashi picked up his awareness in case his student had managed to notice something that he had not.

"What's wro- GET DOWN!"

Something long and very lethal looking burst from the foliage and sliced through the air at a rough height of three feet above the ground. That was essentially where everyone's midsections could be found. It was a wise move then that they all heeded Kakashi's hastily given advice and hit the ground hard. The bladed thing sang overhead and embedded itself in a tree, leaving the five of them completely untouched.

A figure landed atop the thing that was a giant sword. Team Seven and Tazuna scrambled to their feet at the sight of this new assassin. His bare back was taut with muscles and his eyes were as cold and black as the deepest depths of the ocean. Within them was the tiniest glimmer that was almost invisible to human perception. It painted a simple yet heart gripping picture. This was a man who inhaled fear and exhaled confidence. Not a man to be taken lightly.

Shaken by the sight of this assassin, Sasuke and Sakura hesitated before taking up defensive positions. Sasuke adjusted his sleeves so he could summon his kusarigama at a moment's notice while Sakura pre-emptively began attaching tools to her wrists, not wishing to be caught out like last time. Naruto, with no such preparations to make, closed in on Tazuna, never taking his eyes off the enemy.

Then the leader of the group made his move. Kakashi did not act quickly nor give any sign of his concern. However he made his way to the front of the group, and when he spoke, it was with the severity and volume of one who was not making the mistake of underestimating the assassin simply because of the numbers. "Hidden mist missing-nin Momochi Zabuza." He stated more for the benefit of his team than the one to whom he spoke. Even more gravely, he thought; _"Could he be the one?"_

The one named Zabuza remained silent while he observed the reactions of the Konoha ninja team to his presence. It was a much better way of uncovering the experience the younger ones possessed. His cold glare chilled their bones and irrevocably imbalanced their resolve. Just by watching these changes he could assess them well enough. They were all afraid of him. The blond one especially.

His attention shifted back to Kakashi as the Jonin raised his hand to his forehead protector. With his other one he gestured for his team to stay back. "Under no circumstances are you allowed to leave Tazuna's side." Kakashi instructed. "This isn't going to be a straightforward fight."

"Sharingan Kakashi." Zabuza drawled. "It's an honour. But the old man is mine."


	11. Chapter 11

I got an interesting anonymous review recently stating I need to make my chapter's more concise. As I think about it, the guy is right, I do. I made a practice crack at it with this chapter, but hopefully the next one will show the real fruits of my efforts.

* * *

**The disgraces of the past**

Temptations of the flesh and mind ran deep within the demon of the hidden mist. The thoughts of what he would do with the money Gato would pay him for taking the life of some old guy were the only thing keeping him from truly revelling in the gift that had been packaged before his very eyes. The legendary copy ninja, Hatake Kakashi, chained to the ground by a trio of infants. In some ways he was filled with as much anger as he was glee. An encounter as such should never have been anything more than one on one, with no distractions.

Zabuza swung the Executioner's Blade like the master he was, crafting a radius of death all around him. Predictably Kakashi aimed for the intervals right after Zabuza's slashes missed and he was forced to expose part of his back. But Zabuza had been training with this sword for far too long to allow such shortcomings to hinder him. As Kakashi stepped in to counter Zabuza struck the ground with his blade and utilised the conservation of momentum to deliver a kick with enough force to throw Kakashi a fair distance back.

"They're evenly matched." Sasuke muttered, his concern ebbing through. The thought that Kakashi, who none of them had been able to land a single hit on, was getting knocked around by this Zabuza guy told him plenty of just what kind of opponent they were facing. "No... Kakashi-sensei is on the losing side."

It was not an opinion that his team mates disagreed with. They were worried that if they did nothing more than guard Tazuna, they would be watching their sensei's demise, shortly before their own. "We should do something." Sakura murmured.

That was what she said, and what Sasuke thought himself. But neither of them were coming up with any ideas. Naruto surreptitiously looked to them both and knew he couldn't blame what was holding them back. Fear. They were afraid, but not just of Zabuza. Two Jonin facing off against each other was a sight that could drive the young and experienced mad. Naruto was somewhat safe from this strife, though only because of his prior exposure.

There are two kinds of people in the world. Those who when backed into a corner try to make themselves seem as weak and pitiable as possible in the hope that whatever preyed upon them would show mercy. And those who faced whatever threatened them by trying to give off as much strength as possible, even if it was all a facade. That was the nature of killing intent. A tool to some; a hindrance to others.

In the case of Momochi Zabuza, it was a tool refined to perfection.

Naruto tried to hide his laughter. He was not happy. He was every bit as scared as his team mates were. Every time he saw Zabuza turn his head he was afraid that monster would look him in the eye and show him even more fear. His mind played tricks on him of all the way that sword could be used to cut him down. Naruto laughed, not out of joy, but at himself. He had been so sure that he wouldn't feel this kind of fear again.

"_I might have to use tho-"_

He barely suppressed a grunt of anger as he eliminated that thought before it could finish. That such a thing would come to his mind was not what he could easily forgive. _"I won't use those! Not if I can help it!"_ he noticed then that his breathing was growing heavier. A calming breath ridded him of extraneous emotion. _"If it comes down to it... I should run."_

And as he came to this conclusion he began to see the repercussions for his hubris. Should he choose to stay he would likely fall at the hands of Zabuza. Should he choose to run he would be branded a traitor and have the Kyuubi stripped from him, along with his life. Or should he choose the third option, to flee both Zabuza and Konoha, he would lose the only village that might have let him live and would never be able to master Fuinjutsu in time. His fate was sealed the moment he chose to continue this damnable mission.

"_It's not possible for someone like you to live in their world. You'll be forced to make sacrifice after sacrifice just to fit in. They don't deserve you. If it's you or them, choose yourself every time."_

"_Looks like you were right again, sensei." _sweat dribbled down the side of Naruto's face, tickling his skin and making it itch. When he focused again on Zabuza there was a new look in his eye. A darker, more distant look, far from this usual self. _"Just once I wish I could prove you wrong."_

Zabuza lunged in at Kakashi with a slash, but the Konoha Jonin pulled off a backflip onto a tree behind and used it to springboard over the missing nin. His timing was perfect, for the full revolution of Zabuza's blade allowed Kakashi to plant his hand upon its flat surface and lash out with a kick to Zabuza's face. It would have knocked the demon ninja out of his senses and sent him reeling. Would have, if Zabuza had not grabbed Kakashi's shin with his free hand just in time.

"Not impress-" Zabuza ducked suddenly as Kakashi threw a shuriken he'd prepared from his initial backflip. The effort made Zabuza release Kakashi and allow the Jonin to flip back down to the ground. When Zabuza looked up again, Kakashi was out of sight. The swordsman smirked beneath his wrappings. "I take it back." He said, before he too stepped back into his mist. "I'm a _little_ impressed."

Silence had never sounded as dreadful as it did at that time. Neither Kakashi nor Zabuza was in sight now. Sakura and Sasuke both felt the anxiety of knowing that Zabuza could very well take a pot shot at them at any time, but Naruto had a slight idea better of what was happening. Kakashi and Zabuza now had a feel for how each other fought. Now that the initial phase was over, things were likely about to get a lot more intense. The threat thus far was only a shadow of the real thing.

"_If I run, I can maybe convince some other village to take me in. I'll tell them my story. I don't think they'll doubt my feelings toward Konoha- SHIT!"_ Naruto resisted audibly cursing. He had forgotten about the Uzumaki Dossier, which he had left at his house in the village. No matter what happened there was no way he could leave that there. And if he went there without his team, it would be impossible to avoid getting investigated. _"What do I _do?!_"_

A hand grabbed his shoulder and Naruto almost lost it. He snapped his head around with his blade at the ready, only to see that it was not the enemy who had touched him. It was Sakura. She didn't look at him, but she put her hand on him. Naruto stared part way at her, part way into the trees, trying to figure out what it was she'd seen. Then he noticed the flicker of her eyes towards him, and her hand dropped. Had... had Sakura just tried to reassure him?

It was then that a realisation came to him that humiliated every fibre of his being. Sakura had just tried to reassure him. No, it wasn't about that. She and Sasuke had been rooted to the ground just a little while ago, but now it was he who had been panicking and her who had maintained control. Perhaps Kakashi's successful subversion of Zabuza's last assault had restored some confidence in her. Now she was looking a lot cooler than he was.

"_Get it together you moron!"_ he told himself, forcing some more calming breaths. Once he felt his heartbeat steady he put his attentions to the part of the clearing he was supposed to be watching. Scanning the mists for any shadows that could be Zabuza. _"Damn it... fight or flight... which is it?"_

Little by little the mists thinned out and the visibility of the clearing became more as it should. It was not an evenly distributed thing however. As his Sonar Technique had shown him, there were pockets of chakra in the mist where it was at its thickest. It was those pockets of chakra that most interfered with the technique and made it virtually worthless here. That contributed a fair bit to Naruto's current desperation. He had to rely on his hindered eyesight.

Through his avid search his eyes fell upon one place within the clearing. Some bushes near the tree line. It was his only shot, but it was a gamble. If he could make this, he could live and return to Konoha. No matter what happened, he'd grab the dossier and never make the mistake of leaving it in a safe house ever again.

There was a small part of him that hoped his team could forgive him. Another part told him it was a silly wish. That he couldn't ask forgiveness from those who couldn't hate him for his transgressions. The rest of him made the point very clear. He just didn't have a choice.

"_Sorry."_

* * *

Everyone who regarded the students under the care of Yuhi Kurenai always had the same comment to make. Team Eight certainly had an interesting dynamic. Whenever one went into more detailed explanations, the usual thoughts were alone these lines. They had a stiff yet efficient relationship. They treated each other with aloof respect. They got along, but didn't seem interested in the rest of the group. The only member of their team that they didn't share this odd rapport with was their sensei.

Kiba grasped at the weeds of an elderly couple's garden and pulled them out with a grunt that sounded more like a snarl than it ought to have done. Sweat beaded from his brow and he pulled his hood down, dirtying his jacket with pieces of earth. Akamaru watched him contentedly as he tossed another fistful of the weeds into the wheelbarrow beside him, which he would later tip into garbage bags. It was annoying work that made his shoulders ache, but he never complained. His team mates never did, and he didn't want to be known as the bitchy one.

His team mates weren't too far from where he was working. Shino was concentrating deeply on trimming the bushes in the garden, treating them with the sort of meticulous care that always left others waiting for him. Hinata on the other hand was outside the garden, applying a fresh coat of paint to the picket fence. She seemed to find the act of running the brush up and down the wood soothing, for the serenity on her face was almost hypnotic.

While the three of them went about their individual tasks, Kurenai supervised them from the patio where the elderly couple were relaxing on a pair of rocking chairs. Despite the husband and wife offering her praise for the care and diligence of her students, she kept them under close scrutiny. They were her first team. She didn't want to make the mistake of attributing their better qualities as her own achievements.

The silence hanging over the team was more stifling than the heat of the sun. More than once Kiba found himself glancing to Shino to see how he was getting along. Occasionally too he found himself looking to Hinata, though he resisted that urge as best he could. His line of sight threatened the draw his attention towards her skirt, and the last time he almost caught a panty shot was the last time he tried. Kurenai made sure to teach him that she didn't approve of that by making him spar against Hinata, who showed him that she agreed with her sensei's opinion.

"I noticed yesterday that Team Seven were gathered at the west gates." Shino spoke up, having been aware of Kiba's repeated glances and deciding to break the quiet with a curiosity of his. "They appeared to be heading out of the village. I was wondering if you knew anything about that, Kiba. Because you and Uzumaki Naruto appear to be friends."

"You shouldn't ask about the missions other teams take." Kurenai joined her team. "Especially if it's a mission that takes place outside the village."

Hinata didn't have any interest in the topic Shino raised until her sensei interjected with this point. She didn't pause in her painting, but she did look up at Kurenai. As did Kiba. And Shino. Their stares made Kurenai's stern expression twitch a little. She knew those looks and was still embarrassed by them. It told her that they felt she was being too tough, but didn't want to say anything about it.

"I apologise, Kurenai-sensei." Shino returned to his pruning for a second, but then a thought came to him that he had to bring up. "They're on a mission?"

"_Damn!"_ Kurenai wanted to slap herself for letting that slip. She had been so quick to lecture them that she hadn't been watching her own words. No doubt now that her team knew Genin could receive missions outside the village, they would want one themselves. "It's just a guess. They could be training, but I don't see why they'd leave the village for that."

"No, it's a mission." Kiba straightened up and grabbed the handles of the wheelbarrow to take it to where the garbage would be piled up. "C-rank to Wave. Naruto told me about it."

When no one was looking Kurenai dropped her head dejectedly. What was the point in telling her students not to ask about other team's missions when members of that team were broadcasting the news to anyone who'd listen? Instead of risking embarrassing herself again, Kurenai dropped the issue and let her students discuss it among themselves.

"A C-rank?" Shino repeated, returning again to his pruning with much more focus. "I didn't know Genin could receive missions like that. Because of the danger involved."

With Kurenai's objection pretty much gone Hinata felt her interest waning, though she didn't want to be left out of a discussion the rest of her team was participating in. "I'm sure Sasuke-san and Sakura-san will be able to handle a C-rank mission just fine." She dipped her brush in the paint and wiped off the excess before continuing. "Naruto-san is likely encumbering them I think."

Kiba let out a sigh. He was far gone from getting annoyed at Hinata's comments about Naruto. "You're wrong about him." He remarked, earning an amused glance from her while he pulled out a garbage bag from the roll on the ground. "I've been sparring with him a lot, so I know what he's like."

"Oh?"

The sharp sound of the garbage back being pulled open was the only sound made as Kiba considered how to word his thoughts. In the end he had to fall back on the explanation his mother gave to him. "He's hungry." Hinata wasn't the only one listening intently at that point. "He's the kind of guy that'll sink to any low or climb to any high to get what he wants. If he thinks something will push him forward, he'll go for it like a fox on a rabbit. Anything that tries to stop him is the enemy."

Akamaru sniffed at the garbage bags already piled up, while everyone else stayed rather quiet, waiting to see if Kiba would say anything further. When he didn't, Hinata turned back to her work with a smile. "I can't say that I'm sure where you get that opinion from." She enjoyed having these talks with Kiba, even if he didn't. "I haven't found him to be nearly so impressive."

The corner of Kiba's mouth curled up into a smirk. "Y'know he thinks pretty highly of you."

Hinata looked at Kiba again, honestly surprised. "He does?"

Kiba couldn't resist looking up from the garbage bag to meet Hinata's gaze dead on. "Yeah. He says you're an even better actress than he is."

He saw it then. The tiniest fluttering of her eyelashes that showed Kiba a break from the usual poise she always had on display. She was good though. An instant later she was smiling again, going back to her work as if nothing strange had happened. Satisfied by this small victory Kiba allowed a slight chuckle as he carried on filling the bag with weeds.

"_Thank you Naruto!"_

* * *

The hollow voices of the vacant mist, like shadows of white upon the sodden earth, tormented the one who hated the confinement of walls. Trapped in the occurrence that his every twitch and fidget could bring about his imminent demise, Naruto may as well have been buried in a coffin beneath the ground. Such circumstances were not the sort he had planned to endure in his life. He detested the gods of fate for punishing his good will with such calamity and resolved never again to act so selflessly.

"_Why the hell did I agree to continue this stupid mission?"_

The question was rhetorical. Bitterly, he knew exactly why he agreed to continue the mission. Two reasons. Two reasons standing on either side of him. Two reasons that he didn't want to die doing a stupid mission, when he could have been there to back them up. _"I guess it's just one reason then."_ He corrected himself. _"I'm getting soft."_

From the edges of his awareness his closest comrades eked in, barely existing within his hampered plane of view. Detecting their dissolution of valour brought no confidence to his own. It was so deeply agitating that he could find so little assurance from his companions. Though it came as little surprise to him. A foe of the likes to instil such dread upon them by merely stirring up a mist was one who deserved every shred of fear he could draw from them. Naruto reluctantly confessed to possessing his fair share of that.

The machinations of his body at the thought of the opposing shinobi's blade running him through brought further indignation to him. Was it not this trepidation that brought about such inattention not so long ago? Would he fall before his own duress and descend into his inner blindness? Would he once again know the agonising pain of his flesh being torn, of his blood spilling from his veins? The probability brought to him made his nerves tremble.

To live. An act that should have been effortless was now that he had to grasp onto with both hands. The weight of the old man behind him made that hold nigh unbearable. Vowing such conviction for the sake of his comrades was an act of foolishness, but it was a mistake he had made himself. He knew what corrections needed to be made, but he had barely the heart to go through with them. Even if he tried, he could still very well die.

He leant ever so slightly in Sakura's direction, entering further into her line of sight without causing any sudden concerns. With his hand he pushed his sheath from the tip up, so that the hilt of the blade was all the more noticeable to his female team mate. Sakura saw what he was doing and met his eyes. The two had a silent discussion about it. Sasuke had his kusarigama and Naruto could recover from wounds faster than any other human. She was the most vulnerable, with just a pair of wooden boxes strapped to her wrist.

Understanding this, she took the hilt of the katana in her hand.

"_Well, here goes."_ Naruto thought. Sharply he ducked down, forcing his katana to scrape against the inside of the sheath as it was pulled out. The sound was clear, audible, almost echoing throughout the mist. There was no way that Zabuza couldn't hear it. If he was acting on his ears, then there was no way he wouldn't respond. After all, the moment of a blade being taken from its sheath, especially one strapped to the back, was a moment where the target's chest was wide open.

A theory that was proven by the shadow that eclipsed Naruto's point of view. A shadow brandishing a blade that outsized and outweighed Naruto quite easily, and was on the course of halving that amount through his collarbone to his opposite waist. There was no option for blocking such an attack without breaking several bones in the process. No time to muster up the energy to dodge either. However the art of boxing taught the self that there was no need to go to great lengths to avoid attacks. With that knowledge Naruto did not dodge.

He swayed.

A perfectly executed lean had the giant blade cleaving the air where his upper torso had been, failing to even scratch his leg as it passed by at a parallel position to it. The assault forced Zabuza to reveal part of his back to Naruto. Under normal circumstances Naruto would have taken advantage of this with a strike to the jaw, but the size of the blade and the length of the hilt did not allow him to get so close. Which was absolutely fine. After all, Naruto was not fighting Zabuza alone.

Kakashi appeared behind the ex-Kiri nin, a kunai held to his throat. "Nice job Naruto!" though Kakashi had been moving to block Zabuza's blade when he appeared to cut down Naruto, he had seen his student's expertly performed sway and was able to adjust his advance to capture Zabuza instead. There was nothing but praise he could offer for such skill.

Like a gargoyle perched on the rafters of a cathedral, Zabuza glared down at Naruto, judging him from a place of eminence and dread. Not knowing how to respond to such a penetrating watch, Naruto simply met the swordsman's eyes in a bid to show that he was not afraid. For how much difference this made he could not tell, but the more Zabuza looked at him the more his eyes seemed to change. From the anger and disgust of which he started, he now seemed studious and interested.

"Now that I get a good look at you, you strike me as familiar, kid." Zabuza drawled menacingly. Kakashi tensed. Why would someone like him know someone like Naruto, even a little bit? The answers couldn't be good, but Kakashi had to know. What he couldn't see from where he stood was Zabuza's mouth curving up into an evil grin. "I think you're in one of my bingo books."

Naruto flinched. Sakura and Sasuke took looks of shock and confusion. Kakashi's eyes darkened. Not allowing Zabuza to utter another word he brought the edge of the kunai across the swordsman's jugular and ripped his flesh apart. Zabuza then exploded in a shape of water, and everyone's hearts was filled with horror. Kakashi had the distinct notion that someone was behind him.

The Copy Ninja whipped around and avoided a slash in the knick of time. He immediately followed in with his own attacks, giving it his all to land a debilitating blow against Zabuza. The two of them disappeared into the mists, leaving the Genin team only to hear the sound of blade on blade from their sensei and their enemy.

"What did he mean by that?" Sakura asked. "No, never mind! We can talk about that later!"

Sasuke remained silent, Naruto fixed in his peripheral vision. He knew what the bingo books were. If Naruto was in one of them, then it meant he had a price on his head. Could that be the secret that everyone seemed to be guarding?

For Naruto the matter was different. He was aware, but he couldn't even begin to care about the stares of his team mates. Horror may have come when he saw that the Zabuza he thought he'd captured was a clone, but what he felt now was so much worse. _"He can't know about _that_! Please god don't let him know about _that_!"_

The strain filled his gut and made it ache. His blood pounded in his ears. His senses screamed at him. So loud! He clenched his fists and gritted his teeth, but there was nothing he could do about it. There was no longer any choice. His sensei was looking the other way, his team mates couldn't leave their spot, and Zabuza was otherwise occupied. The time was now. There was no ever to contrast.

"Sorry." Was all he said, before he disappeared into thin air.

"UZUMAKI!"

"NARUTO!"

Sakura and Sasuke's voices broke over the din of the blade on blade action, and Kakashi immediately knew that something was wrong. In his bounds between offence and defence against Zabuza he managed to reposition himself so that he could just see his team from where he fought. Naruto was nowhere to be seen.

"Maybe I was wrong about him." Zabuza goaded, taking his giant sword and striking with the flat edge in his hand, ramming the perpendicular blade into Kakashi. "A gutless brat like him couldn't possibly have a bounty."

From the distance they were at Kakashi could have asked about that "bounty", but his concentration was unfortunately elsewhere. Naruto had fled from the battle, from his mission, from his _comrades_. Though he understood the boy's fear, he couldn't help but feel the sorrowful disappointment.

No, it was even graver than that. Though he hated to think of him as such, Naruto was the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki. This show of cowardice would irrevocably condemn him in Konoha. There was no way now that the village wouldn't hunt him down to extract the Kyuubi. Such a thought was despairing, but there was nothing he could do about it with Zabuza right in front of him.

"_Minato-sensei... I'm-"_

He didn't get to finish his apology to his deceased teacher. Zabuza took advantage of his distracted mind to strike his hand with the hilt of his blade and make him lose the kunai he'd been using to defend himself. Pain jolted straight through to his shoulder, but things were much worse. In the same attack as disarming him, Zabuza brought his blade around for a slash that would halve Kakashi from the waist to the pit.

Kakashi had been caught off guard, but merely deflecting the attack was impossible. With a surge of chakra he performed the invaluable Substitution Jutsu. In a split second he dashed back into the bushes, took hold of a log he'd previously unsealed at an instant for this very purpose, and tossed the log at Zabuza.

Within that split second the blade met the after image of Kakashi and burst apart, leaving only the log in its place. Satisfied with his manoeuvre Kakashi reached back to make his follow up assault the moment Zabuza's overzealous swing forced him to turn away.

In doing so his hand touched something. His Sharingan flickered towards it and froze. His hand was on a log. A log just like the one he-

"_WHAT?!"_

The log Kakashi had thrown at Zabuza burst into a puff of smoke, and in an instant was replaced with something else entirely. A boy, twelve years of age and immaculately dressed, albeit upside down. A devilish smile was all that Zabuza could see as Uzumaki Naruto planted his hand upon the swordsman's blade and with his other one threw a shuriken straight at Zabuza's face.

"_Naruto!"_ Kakashi, Sasuke and Sakura thought in unison.

Zabuza twisted himself to avoid the shuriken, and Naruto bounced off the blade to flip to the ground. Angered by the surprise attack, Zabuza whipped around in a full circle, just as Naruto took off towards his team. Kakashi was about to rush in to save his student, but his Sharingan told him there was no need. To his Sharingan, everything happened so slowly.

Naruto ran to get out of Zabuza's range. The Executioner's Blade arced around towards him, aiming straight for his neck. It almost decapitated the boy, missing by a hair's breadth. The slash didn't touch Naruto, but it did touch something else. The tie that bound his hair back, and the hair bound by it. Severed by the blade.

In real time Naruto moved so much faster, appeared before his team mates in an instant, crouched low and shaded. Zabuza ceased his swing so not to take his eyes off the boy. Between them the tie and hair hit the ground, making the only sound that passed in the vicinity. Kakashi almost was breathless when he looked at Naruto.

His blond hair fell around his face, his shining blue eyes glaring over his shoulder at Zabuza. A kunai was in his hand, reflecting the steel like deliberation of the boy. Nostalgia washed over Kakashi at the sight of his student. And just how much he resembled his father.

Naruto straightened up, turning on the spot to face Zabuza, arms raised in a defensive position, just in case Zabuza decided to attack. It never came however. So he twirled his kunai on his fingers and slipped them behind his belt strap. Then he smiled at Zabuza, performed a deep bow without taking his eyes off the enemy, and uttered a single word.

"Boom."

The word was meaningless until it was accompanied by a sudden sparking and hissing. Zabuza tensed in shock as his eyes darted to his blade, to the explosive tag attached to it. The explosive went off in an engulfing fireball, filling the clearing with light and heat and dispersing an area of the mist. When it settled, there was no sign of the swordsman. Though there _was_ half a blade embedded in a tree.

"... You got him!" Tazuna exclaimed, his face a mask of disbelief. It broke into a grin and he clapped Naruto hard on the back, enough to make the boy stumble forward. "Good work kid! Knew you had it in ya!"

Naruto grunted from the feeling of being hit by the old man. He gave Tazuna a troubled frown, but in doing so saw the looks on his team mates faces. They were impressed, but not so appraising. He sighed and dusted himself off, turning to look at Kakashi.

"I'm afraid it's not that easy."

Naruto met Kakashi's eyes, and the two exchanged a silent understanding. They nodded, and Kakashi moved out, disappearing himself.

"Naruto..." Sasuke began, though he didn't know what to say.

"I apologised before I did it." Naruto spoke sharply and with a higher sense of etiquette. "Aside from perhaps shrapnel I doubt Zabuza was wounded by that. He has however lost the range that has made him so unapproachable thus far. Kakashi-sensei should be able to take him down."

Sasuke exchanged looks with Sakura, but neither of them pressed the issue further. It was another thing to talk about later when they weren't under such dangerous conditions. That said, when the time came, they would both have a few things to say about Naruto's solo behaviour.

"I wasn't so sure for a moment there, but after that little stunt I'm certain."

Team Seven stilled as Zabuza's voice broke through the mist, ringing around from every direction. Again Naruto was the one with the worst response. _"Damn it Kakashi!"_ was what he thought. What had he gone to all that effort for if not to give his sensei the advantage needed to silence Zabuza?!

"Blond hair, blue eyes, thin lines across the face." One by one Zabuza listed Naruto's distinguishing features, all the while his voice circling threateningly around them. "And then there's that tattoo on your arm. I dismissed it at first. The Chain Breakers use a bleeding heart bound in chains, not a spiral."

Like a skeletal hand taking hold of his lungs, Naruto felt something cold and hard deep within his chest. Not here... not now... not with Sasuke and Sakura here to hear!

"It's been a long time since I read about such a description. But I have little doubt in my mind."

The bones of the skeleton's fingers chilled further and frost spread through Naruto's organs. He began to tremble.

"You're the one that murdered the Ametsuchi family's child, aren't you?"

_Crack!_

That was the sound of the earth falling apart beneath Naruto's feet, of the coldest and blackest ice rushing from the abyss to engulf him. And he stood there, frozen in place, his eyes strangled and estranged. He could hear his heart beating in his chest, gripped by the deathly hand. It was not in search of his life, but of his spirit. A claim it was succeeding in.

Naruto wasn't the only one to hear that indictment. Sakura looked at him and saw his frightened stillness. "... Uzumaki?" she muttered under her breath, her face filled with doubt.

The only one not looking at Naruto was Sasuke. Because he couldn't. He could tell from the state Naruto was in from being accused by Zabuza that there was truth to it. Looking at him would only cement that reality. And make him question things he knew he shouldn't.

"_Is this the secret Konoha was protecting...?"_

"It's not true."

Though unable to before, the sound of Naruto's voice made Sasuke look at his comrade. He denied the allegation, but his body hadn't changed one bit. "I didn't do it." he spoke in a monotone, as if for no one's sake but his own. "It... it wasn't me." Desperation eked in and showed itself through his swaying movements. "I didn't kill anybody! It's a lie!"

"Naruto!"

This time Kakashi's voice broke through the mist, with the same omnipresent quality as Zabuza's. "Calm yourself down. Don't concentrate on anything but what's in front of you."

The advice was directed only at Naruto, but accepted by Sasuke and Sakura too. They returned to their duty and maximised their senses, leaving Naruto behind in that regard. But they were concerned. He wasn't acting as if he heard Kakashi at all. He was much too far away for that sort of thing.

His lips moved. Words spoken so quietly that no one could hear it. Almost silent, barely above a breath. The same three words he'd spoken the day before. "Take it away."

And just as before, though much more minimal in comparison, Naruto visibly relaxed. His anxieties left his muscles and moved somewhere else completely, leaving a Genin without even a trace of them. When his eyes opened, they were not afraid or troubled. It was as if everything that had just happened never had.

"Calm, sensei? I'd like to think I'm more than calm." He raised his hand to his messy mop of a hair and swept it back, sweat and moisture in the air slicking it back in place, with just a single sharp callick hanging from his fringe. "Poised, elegant, refined," a smooth glance to Sakura. "Enamoured..."

Sakura suddenly looked like she wanted to kill Naruto.

"My apologies if that didn't come across quite so well." He touched his hands, but then glanced at them in surprise. "Ah, yes, my gloves were ruined." He lifted his eyes to Zabuza. "The Demon Brothers worked with you, correct? How would you like to compensate me?"

There was no response anyone could have made. Not even from Zabuza, despite the disrespect thrown at his feet. Such sporadic change in mood was so unexpected that no one could do much more than share feelings of disbelief. Yet what he said was true. It was about time Kakashi took advantage of the rebalancing Naruto almost lost his head over.

The mist had been clearing up for a while now, returning the visibility little by little. By now even as far as the lake itself was there for the eyes to see. It was at that place, far from the shore, that a figure stood. Judging by the weapon that now more resembled a giant hatchet than a zanbato, it was the enemy.

"_If it's this clear, perhaps I can use my jutsu."_ Naruto calmly mused. He brought his hands together and made another attempt at the Sonar Technique. He smiled in his success as his chakra reached a far greater distance than it had when the mist was at his thickest. This smile slid away quickly however, at what he saw. "Kakashi-sensei!" he called out, looking at a spot in the trees, where he could see the shape of his sensei and another attacking him. "That's a water-"

Before he could finish his warning the water clone made a swipe with its smaller but faster weapon that forced Kakashi to break out from the cover of the trees. Unfortunately the direction he leapt was not to the land, but to the water itself. He landed atop the water, unaware even that the real one was approaching him at a run.

"Damn it!" Naruto cursed, moving forward.

"No!" Sakura grabbed him by the arm and pulled him back. "No more running off on your own! Kakashi-sensei won't be stopped by a little water!"

Naruto met Sakura's firm eyes with his own. He understood why she was concerned, but he couldn't respect her wishes. "Then what about _this_ one?" he asked, pointing to the water clone that leapt down to their midst. "Would you rather Kakashi-sensei dispose of it, or shall I?"

Just as Naruto posed that question they heard a lot of noise coming from the water front. Something was happening between Kakashi and Zabuza, but they couldn't see it for the water clones climbing out onto the shore. Two more joined the third in a line that was so very threatening.

"Wh-what are you gonna do now?!" Tazuna exclaimed in a panic.

Sasuke let out a breath. "Got no choice now." He murmured, moving to create a line between the clones and Tazuna with Naruto.

"No." This time it was Naruto who voiced the refusal. "I'm taking all three of them on."

Sakura performed a double take that ended in a glare. "What do you-"

"I'm taking them all on, and you two are taking Tazuna out of here." Naruto's voice broke over Sakura's, his deliberation far overshadowing hers. "Find somewhere to hide. If Kakashi-sensei and I come find you, I'll tell you what kind of house I live in as a pass code. If we don't, then get back to Konoha and tell them what happened."

He gave the command, but it was clear by their lack of reaction that neither Sasuke nor Sakura wanted to go along with it. The trouble was that the water clones had no intention of waiting any longer. They began walking confidently towards the group, each wielding a broken blade. Sasuke and Sakura's hesitation was going to get them all killed. So, for their sake as much as his own, Naruto resorted to hasty measures.

He called upon the Kyuubi's chakra, let it fill his body. And then, with all the malice that came with it, he turned around and screamed at Tazuna. "GET OUT OF HERE!"

The trick certainly did the job of scaring the old man off. But it also frightened Sasuke and Sakura. Momentarily stunned by Naruto's display, Tazuna's jabbering kept a silence from forming and they knew they had no choice. They had to protect the client, who Naruto had just sent running. It was also the only chance any of them had at surviving.

So, they turned and ran.

Naruto watched them go. Even with three water clones advancing upon him and him alone now, he watched as his team mates disappeared into the trees. He didn't take his eyes away from that spot until he was sure they were gone. By which point the three clones were already upon him, bringing their blades down.

Naruto looked over his shoulder at them. Within his red eyes was a spark that had not been there for a long time now. A spark of anger.

* * *

In exchange for range and power, speed and manoeuvrability. A fair trade off in Zabuza's opinion. He swung his shortened blade in an upward slash at Kakashi, not expecting the blow to hit, but warding the Konoha Jonin off and splashing him with some disorienting water at the same time.

Kakashi guarded his face from the predictable slash and took a note from Naruto's book. When Zabuza next attempted a vertical assault he utilised the swaying technique he'd read with his Sharingan and applied his own twist with an added sidestep. In short he leant then stepped aside when Zabuza tried to cleave him. And thus created an opening.

The three shuriken were far too fast for even a Jonin class ninja like Zabuza to dodge completely, but with his lighter weapon he was able to avoid more than minor cuts. In return he took advantage of Kakashi's direction and momentum to make a swipe with his leg that Kakashi couldn't dodge. The hit struck his waist and pushed him beneath the surface of the water. Zabuza wasted no time then.

"_Water Prison Jutsu!"_

The water climbed over itself at Zabuza's command, crawling over Kakashi and entrapping him in a liquid orb. Kakashi realised the position he was in and cursed to himself. There was no way for him to escape a jutsu like this. Zabuza had won.

"I expected more from the son of the White Fang." Zabuza goaded, playing with his broken blade, swinging it around the back of his hand and catching it expertly. With each swing it seemed to draw a little closer to Kakashi. "I guess I should be thankful, but to tell the truth I'm disappointed. I had hoped with the legend of the Copy Ninja you were sure to be the second coming of the White Fang. But I guess in the end you're nothing but garbage."

Kakashi would have let out a breath, if air wasn't so precious right now. He really was done for. Zabuza could say what he liked, but little of it was getting through to Kakashi. He was a failure, just like he always thought he was. Even when they needed him so desperately, he couldn't protect his team. Not when he was younger, and not now.

"_I can tell them to run..."_ as soon as he thought this some spark of energy came back and he looked to the shore, willing to expend the last of his oxygen if it meant giving the order to his team to flee. But as he searched for his Genin, even with his Sharingan, he realised they weren't there. A small smile crept across his lips. _"Good... if they're smart, they can escape with their lives."_

Zabuza followed Kakashi's eyes and studied the shore. The thinning mist showed him that there was nothing there. No signs of the three wannabe ninja or the old man he had been hired to kill. Nor were his water clones anywhere to be seen. _"So the brats and the geezer ran, and my clones pursued."_ They were probably already dead by now then.

Satisfied, he turned his eyes to his shattered sword, aware of Kakashi's eyes upon him. There would be no pleas from the so called legendary ninja it seemed. Though Zabuza hadn't expected any, it still bored him. He raised his blade over his head and glared down at Kakashi, ready to finish things.

That was when he heard an odd whistling.

"_What is- WHAT?!"_

The cause of Zabuza's sudden duress was from a large object that was quite clearly the other half of his Executioner's Blade flying through the air like a giant shuriken, aimed to slice through his arm like a guillotine. If he had noticed a second later he would have lost a considerable amount of weight. But he could still block with the rest of his-

Another sound caught his ears. A squelch. Accompanied by a great amount of pain in his wrist. Zabuza looked to the corner of his eye and saw a kunai sticking out of his arm. Worse than that, the pain made his muscles spasm and drop his sword. Now with no other choice, he leapt back to dodge the other half of his blade and to grab the part he'd dropped with his other hand.

The broken blade missed him entirely and struck the water, triggering a large splash that doused the area. Zabuza grunted as he pulled the kunai out of his arm, flinching as Kakashi burst through the shower of water with the speed of the Shunshin no Jutsu.

Kakashi used the half of the blade Zabuza wielded as a step to bring his knee up to the swordsman's chin. The blow connected and Zabuza's mind blanked as the sheer force threw him off his feet and through the air. A brief span of unawareness befell Zabuza, though it ended in time to see Kakashi leaping over him, shuriken in both his hands.

"_Bastard!"_ Zabuza internally snarled, blocking the throwing stars with his weapon. He fell into the water with another eruption and disappeared beneath the surface.

Kakashi landed and leapt back several places. _"I can't follow him down there..." _the water was too thick for him to move in, but he had no doubt Zabuza would have an easy time swimming through it. He gave a glance to the shore, trying to see who aided him. _"Did they hide and wait? I guess it's better than standing out in the open... but..."_

The way the larger half of Zabuza's blade had embedded itself into the ground when it had first been broken told Kakashi plenty of how heavy it was. For it to be thrown in such a way as it had been would require tremendous strength. More than what a Genin could possess.

"_Don't tell me Naruto's using the Kyuubi's power in front of Sasuke and Sakura."_ His eyes flicked up for a second as he reconsidered his thoughts. _"Well I guess I'm grateful he did that."_

Now wasn't the time to be concentrating on such things. He chalked it up as another thing to talk about when they got out of here. And they would get out of here. He wasn't going to get caught out like that again.

A niggling sense in the back of Kakashi's head advised him to turn around. A sense he obeyed. In doing so he caught sight of Zabuza emerging from the water, leering at Kakashi from afar. Kakashi was about to close the distance between them when he saw something unsettling.

The Executioner's Blade. It was whole again.

"_That's not good!"_ Zabuza already had too many advantages on the water like this, and now he had the range and power of his lofty weapon again. The only injuries he had taken from this fight aside from a few scrapes was that kunai wound on his arm. Kakashi was in a similar boat, with no visible injuries. But the Sharingan was constantly draining his chakra. In a battle of attrition, he would lose. _"Looks like it's time to use that old trick!"_

"That old trick" was otherwise known as the Copy Ninja's Combo. Using the Sharingan's hypnotic abilities he suggested the same thought to Zabuza. That it would be best to end the fight now than to drag things out. It of course worked, with Zabuza choosing to sheathe his blade and begin making hand seals. Seals that Kakashi read and mimicked in perfect unison to Zabuza. Distressing the swordsman a fair deal.

"_Is he reading my mind?!"_

The strongest jutsu in Zabuza's arsenal, the Water Dragon, took time even for a seasoned ninja like himself to pull off. But it took Kakashi just as long. That gave Zabuza time to try and figure out what was happening. Try though he might he couldn't find a solution. Thankfully, he thought with a sneer, he wouldn't have to.

A shadow was rising from the water behind Kakashi.

"_What's with that look on his face?"_ it concerned Kakashi that the unease Zabuza displayed had disappeared in an instant. But he kept up the effort, believing that his opponent had merely gotten past the shock and believed Kakashi was just playing some mind game. That was when Kakashi felt a murderous intent from behind. _"Damn!"_

Instinctively he whirled around and saw exactly what he feared. Another Zabuza, a water clone probably, stood mere feet away from him, already in the process of swinging his blade. Kakashi reacted faster, reading the blade's movement's and managing a chakra fuelled jump over it. In the same motion he threw two kunai at the clone, dispersing it immediately.

Suddenly a great noise filled Kakashi's ears as he landed upon the water. Dread filled him to his very soul as he landed and turned around. Zabuza had distracted him at the exact moment his technique had been completed. But Kakashi had been unable to do the same. And now he was staring down the muzzle of a colossal dragon of water.

There was only one choice. Retreat. Kakashi moved to dodge, but almost fell over. Fresh horror hit him when he felt hands gripping his ankles. He looked down at his feet and saw another water clone holding him from below, leering maliciously. But there was no time to do anything about that. The water dragon was upon him.

Kakashi paled. The dragon would devour him whole. It was ov-

The Sharingan picked something up. Something normal eyes would have missed. Through the heightened perception Kakashi noticed that something was approaching through the air. His eye turned towards it just in time for it to land before him. The speed at which it travelled through the mist had made it unclear, but now that it was before him he could see it perfectly.

No, not it. _Him._

Naruto.

* * *

Naruto pressed his back against a tree, his arm covering his tightly shut eyes. With his other hand he clumsily grabbed at his canteen and twisted the lid open, removing his arm to pour the contents over his face without regard to the loss of water. He forced his eyes open. It was the only way to wash away the blood that had seeped into them during the course of his fight. The pain was burning.

He had barely survived fighting off the three water clones, and not without taking some serious cuts. The red of his eyes faded away as the seals on his arms converted the Kyuubi's raw chakra into regenerative chakra and healed the long gashes upon his body, knitting them together until there was only blood and torn clothing. He gave out a grateful sigh. Then he looked around the tree.

His face became like a ghost's as he saw atop the lake a grim scene. Zabuza stood over Kakashi, encased in a sphere of water. By the way the swordsman was playing with his blade, his intentions were clear. Kakashi was about to die.

Naruto winced to himself, hitting his head against the tree. His breathing was hard and ragged. His clothes were more than just bloodied. They were died completely red. All that blood was missing from his body. And though wounds were easy to heal with the Replication Array, internal works required more concentration. That was time he didn't have.

But he had to do something. Had to save Kakashi. For some reason the thought of that man dying bred great unrest within him. It frustrated him to think he cared that much, but now wasn't the time for that either. He had to act with strength and speed.

But... that meant...

"GAH!" he grunted to himself, forcing his way off the tree and into the clearing. Not those... if he used those... if he let Kakashi see those...

He staggered his way forward, still concentrating on his healing to bring up his blood count. Through it he found the half of Zabuza's blade still embedded in the ground. That sword was broken because of Naruto's actions. Instead of running away, he'd fought back. Because he knew fleeing was only temporary salvation. And what it meant he'd be leaving behind.

"_Sasuke and Sakura got away... but Zabuza will hunt them down."_ He put his hand on the blade and thought quickly. _"He'll hunt me down too... since he knows about _that_."_ A tear of frustration started to form, but he snarled it away. _"I guess you were right sensei. I can't away from this power!"_

With the anger that filled him he ceased using the Kyuubi's power to regenerate his blood and instead allowed the chakra to fill his body, to fuel it. He felt his muscles strengthen, his body seeming to be lighter. Everything seeming to be lighter. The half blade too. Naruto took it by the hole not by his doing and with a grunt he pulled it out of the ground. Then he looked again to the lake.

"_Do or die!"_ he thought, lips curling back as he hauled the half blade over his shoulder and took off for the nearest tree. He bounded up it and focused chakra to his legs, using it to perform an inhuman leap above the tree line. Then, refocusing all that power into his back and arms, he threw the blade as hard as he could with all the precision he could manage.

The blade took off, whistling through the air as it flew. Kakashi and Zabuza didn't notice it until it was coming close. But that was enough time for Zabuza to block with his half of the sword. Or he would have, had a kunai not suddenly embedded itself in his arm.

"_What?!"_ Naruto landed on the ground and pressed his back against the tree, stunned by what he'd just seen. He looked to the opposite side of the clearing and his jaw dropped when he saw who it was that had thrown the kunai.

Sakura.

"What are you doing here?!" he hissed, while looking out to the water. Zabuza wasn't looking their way, so he dashed across the clearing to join his team mate.

"What do you think I'm doing here?!" Sakura counted, punching Naruto on the arm. "Who do you think you are trying to scare us off like that?!"

Naruto opened his mouth to argue, but then her words clicked in "Us?"

"Hey."

Darting his eyes to the other voice, Naruto almost struck his face with his palm when he saw Sasuke behind another tree, with Tazuna next to him. Just what in the hell were they doing?!

"Could someone please be so kind as to explain to me why you brought the client back to the ninja that's tryna kill him?!" Naruto tried to sound calm, but it wasn't easy through gritted teeth.

It was Tazuna himself who fielded this answer. "As if I could trust brats like you to guard my life. The only guy I have faith in is that sensei of yours." He gave an old man smirk. "If it means keeping him alive, I'll stay here so you brats can help him out."

Sakura and Sasuke both wore similar smirks, silently appraising the old man for his guts. Naruto might have appreciated it too, had he not taken it upon himself to one up his averted face palm by smacking his face against the tree.

"_Son of a BITCH!" _he cursed inwardly, his rage boiling about inside him some more. It was fine if they thought he chased them away to let them escape, but that wasn't it! He got rid of them so there wouldn't be an audience! _"If some god is playing a trick on me I swear I am gonna climb my way up to wherever he is and make him choke on his own intestines!"_

As much fun as imagining the mutilation of a divine being by his hands was for Naruto, he couldn't just stand there drawing concerned looks from his team mates. Utilising the Replication Array to heal the head wound he'd done himself just now he stepped out from behind the tree to get a look at what was going on out there.

Kakashi and Zabuza were standing apart from each other, perfect mirrors in their actions. It was strange to see, but Naruto didn't care about that. He saw a water clone rising from the surf behind Kakashi, bringing back a fully mended sword.

Just as Naruto was about to cry out a warning to Kakashi, his sensei detected the clone and attacked it. Naruto would have felt relieved, if not for Zabuza completing his jutsu. The water around the swordsman erupted up and took on the form of a giant torrential dragon. A dragon that was rearing itself back to attack Kakashi.

Who himself was caught by the ankles by another water clone.

Time froze for Naruto then, but it was not a cold freeze. His anger had not left him, and was redoubled by what he saw. The so called legendary copy ninja was bound by the ankles by some missing nin with a sword as big as his ego. The rage made Naruto tremble. What sort of two bit legend was his sensei that he needed Naruto's help?!

Naruto snarled incoherently to himself, but he was already moving. With Sakura and Sasuke watching him, calling out to him, he was running for the edge of the lake. While he ran, be put his hands together to form seals. While he channelled chakra to his legs, he ran through an intricate series of seals. While he leapt at an inhuman speed and distance, crossing the lake and landing in front of his sensei, he was still forming seals.

Then, facing Zabuza's water dragon, he finished forming seals. Hate filled his heart as he threw his hands to the ground and released a jutsu he wanted no one to see.

* * *

Kakashi watched Naruto strike the surface of the water with his palms, and felt a large concentration of chakra release from his body. The next thing he noticed was the water clone gripping his ankles suddenly disappear, allowing Kakashi to regain his footing. This paled in comparison to what he saw next. He paled as well.

The water around them erupted in three places and the sound of metal scraping upon metal filled the air. Three lines burst from the lake and met their jagged tips above Naruto and Kakashi's head. Naruto twisted his palms outward and a pale yellow light filled the caps between the metal. Just in time for the water dragon to collide with the creation and explode. But Kakashi barely registered this. He could hardly take his eyes from what he was seeing.

Chains. Chains of chakra. Just like what Uzumaki Kushina was famous for.

Kakashi lowered his eyes, seeing Naruto's reflection in the water striking the barrier his student had created. What he saw was not determination or deliberation. No, what he saw was a deep, burning shame.

"Naruto..." he breathed.

"HE'S COMING!" Naruto roared.

Just a second after he said it, it happened. The water dragon finished uselessly colliding with Naruto's shield and in its stead appeared Zabuza, bearing down with his blade. Evidently the missing nin had intended to cleave Kakashi in half, having not expected a mere Genin like Naruto to know a barrier jutsu strong enough to block an A rank water jutsu. The Executioner's Blade struck the barrier and bounced off it, catching Zabuza in a rebound.

Kakashi was already forming seals faster than any eye other than the Sharingan could follow. Naruto noticed his sensei's actions and broke his shield, retracting the chains back inside the sleeves of his shirt. By the time Zabuza recovered from his rebound, it was far too late for him to do anything.

"_Suiton: Great Waterfall Technique!"_


	12. Chapter 12

This is the shortest chapter of this story yet, but I have it on good authority by my dear friend Lazruth that I should leave it as is. Hopefully you'll all like it as much as he did.

* * *

**An insight to darkness**

By the time Team Seven made it to Tazuna's home they were each and all substantially weary of the journey they had taken to get there. They left Tazuna with his family and gathered at the back of his waterfront home, where the coal bunker was located. Kakashi sat atop this bunker, eager to get off his exhausted feet. If it could have been permitted he would have asked if he could sleep off his energy loss, but unfortunately that would have to wait until later. The looks on his students' faces told him that leaving them to their own discussions could prove detrimental to the team.

"That Hunter-nin chose a rather convenient moment to enter the fray." Naruto was staring out across the water, away from his team. "Rather than assist us or simply wait for sensei to deal the final blow, he stepped in at the last second and killed Zabuza for us." He turned his head around to look at Kakashi. "What's more is that throughout the entire battle I didn't once pick him up with my Sonar Technique, even as the mist thinned."

Sasuke couldn't see where Naruto was going with this. "What does that mean?"

Naruto met Sasuke's look and inadvertently caught Sakura's. He turned back to facing the waterfront. "The mist was filled with chakra. This interfered with my search radius. However, there were pockets of concentrated chakra where the mist was thicker. Now the Hunter-nin may very well have arrived just in the nick of time as he said he did. Alternatively..."

"He could have been hiding in one of those thicker pockets of mist." Kakashi concluded Naruto's thoughts, crossing his arms and giving it some consideration. "Which could mean that he was there for a greater duration of the conflict than he told us. Is that it?"

Naruto half nodded. "It may just be nothing, but if it's not and something unpleasant comes from it, I shudder to think the consequences of my silence."

"No matter what, if something seems strange to you never hesitate to voice your concerns." Kakashi was speaking to all three of them. "Four heads are better than one and in the field you need every bit of information you can get. I think our confrontation today was a prime example of this."

A chill ran down the spines of the three Genin then. They were each certain that they'd never feel comfortable during a foggy afternoon ever again.

"But I've been thinking a similar thing myself." Kakashi admitted, frowning deeply. "The Hunter-nin used senbon to take Zabuza down, despite those being an inefficient method of killing. And rather than destroy the corpse on the spot as Hunter-nin are known to do, he instead took Zabuza's body away."

There was a lingering look in Sakura's eyes as she pieced things together. "Are you saying Zabuza's still _alive?!_ But you checked his pulse!"

"Unfortunately it's a very likely possibility." Kakashi confirmed, mixing unease at the ominous foretelling his logic brought to him and praise to Sakura for following said logic so very well. "If there's anyone capable of putting someone under a temporary, false state of death, it would be a Hunter-nin. It would be a bad idea to ignore that potential threat."

This was an ill omen indeed, which the entire team was hushed by. "Can we send for backup?" Sasuke asked.

"We could try, but I can't guarantee our message would make it to the village." Kakashi had a few options when it came to messengers, but with no way of knowing how closely the enemy was watching, he would be endangering them to try. "And if we did, it would probably be a death sentence to Wave."

The three Genin looked sharply at Kakashi when he said this. "What do you mean?" Sakura was especially troubled.

It was because of Sakura that Kakashi had to think about what he was going to say. In the end he decided not to dance around the issue. "The Godaime Hokage is my father, so I know him better than most. To him the lives of his ninja are more valuable than any compensation Wave could offer, especially after they lied to us about the mission. Chances are if we requested backup, he would send an extraction team and force us to pull out."

Sakura was clearly winded by this, and Sasuke showed equal disbelief. Kakashi looked over both of them, and then at Naruto. Surprisingly Naruto did not look as distasteful about it as he'd expected. As a matter of fact Naruto actually looked like he approved. Kakashi filed it away for later consideration, but if it was what he thought, then that was a good sign. Naruto was in agreement with the Hokage's way of thinking.

"If Tazuna had been honest from the beginning I doubt the Godaime would have turned him away. Though I understand why Tazuna felt he had to lie, the Godaime won't forgive endangerment of his ninja. In most villages ninja are seen as dispensable. That's not the case with Konoha. Not so long as Hatake Sakumo is Hokage."

The level of conviction that came with this statement hushed any arguments that may have come against it. Sakura piped down and said nothing. Though she didn't like the idea that Wave could be abandoned like that, it was comforting to know that the Hokage cared so much about the ninja of the village.

"Then what are we supposed to do?" Sasuke was good at keeping focus on the problem at hand, even if he was a touch too pessimistic.

Kakashi raised his eye to the sky and thought about it. "We can send the message and hope for the best, or we can knuckle down and prepare for the worst case scenario." He had no intention of giving his team false hope, but he honestly believed there was still some real hope to be had. "After we get some rest we'll commence heavy training."

Sasuke gave a curt nod to this, though he was the only one to do so. Naruto has returned to watching the waterfront and Sakura's eyes were fixed firmly on the ground. Kakashi didn't conclude the meeting either, for he was already perfectly aware that they were far from done here. As a matter of fact he watched Sakura and waited for the inevitable.

"What did Zabuza mean?" she spoke up, locking her eyes to the back of Naruto's head. "He called you a murderer, and you freaked out. What's going on?"

Naruto turned his head a little Sakura's way. Every indication of his posture suggested that like Kakashi he had been anticipating this matter's arrival. Kakashi had been spending a good deal of the time since the confrontation trying to figure out how to fix this problem, but he too was conflicted by it.

"That's not something we should..." he started to say, but didn't know where to go from there.

"Sensei." Naruto spoke up clearly, without any indication of solid emotion in his voice. "Do you know about the Ametsuchi murder?"

Kakashi was a little hesitant, but he answered. "I know the gist of it."

"Then please go ahead and tell them." Naruto turned around to face them all, a passive, yet secure expression on his face. "As I said before, the accusations against me are false. I have no reason to be afraid of what may come from talking about it."

Though all eyes in the area were studying him closely, he did not change anything about himself aside from offer a comforting smile. Kakashi still didn't feel this was a good subject to speak about, but now that Naruto had given his consent he had no real grounds to deny it. "Alright."

Sakura and Sasuke sharply turned their attention to Kakashi and listened intently. "The Ametsuchi Murder Case refers to a killing that took place roughly three years ago along the southern border of Fire Country. At the time there was a feud going on between two families, both of whom run prestigious martial arts dojos. One day the Ametsuchi heir was murdered, though the culprit escaped. Konoha offered its aid, but the Ametsuchi family had already hired private investigators on the matter. The culprit was never found, but the family still holds a bounty for him, as Zabuza has made evident."

He gave this information some time to swirl around in Sasuke and Sakura's minds. During this period he glanced at Naruto, who was firmly looking at his team mates. Years ago when Kakashi heard about the murder he remembered thinking it was strange for Konoha to openly offer its assistance in a private matter. Now knowing that there was a description of the killer that so closely matched Naruto, he couldn't help but think that perhaps his father suspected the same as Zabuza.

"Why does Zabuza think Uzumaki did it?" Sakura demanded. Kakashi was ready for that.

"It doesn't matter because it's not possible that Naruto could have done it." he was honestly secure in this reasoning. "Though Zabuza said that the victim was a child, he was really a seventeen year old boy who was well trained in his family's art form. These dojos were no laughing matter either. I doubt Naruto as he is now could have beaten such a fighter, let alone at age nine." Even factoring Naruto's extent of control over the Kyuubi Kakashi felt firm in that reasoning.

Sakura wasn't yet satisfied. "If that's the case then why did you give such an overblown reaction when Zabuza accused you?" she turned to Naruto as she asked this.

Naruto took in a long, deep breath, and looked Sakura in the eye. "This will likely sound suspicious, but my sensei and I were in the city where those dojos were located at the time of the murder. The bounty hunters in the area caught wind of the Ametsuchi family seeking a child fitting my description and assumed it was me they were looking for."

Sasuke immediately turned his head away with a pained look in his eye, knowing where this was going.

"I've been dogged by bounty hunters for years because of that. My sensei killed every one of them until word spread that it was not worth the effort to pursue me." Naruto's expression was as flat as his voice, but his eyes were so very distant, remembering awful things. "I thought that I had escaped that, but now it seems to have caught up with me again."

Sakura couldn't keep up her accusing look, and like Sasuke she dropped her gaze. Kakashi continued to watch Naruto. He had been in the area at the time? That was a touch too convenient given his theory about why his father had stepped in at that time. But the memory was clearly painful and it didn't seem fair to Naruto to keep pressing.

"You don't have to say anything else." He said gently, with a reassuring look for his troubled student. "I myself have been mistaken for my father by more than one bounty hunter in my time." This little titbit got him the attention of all his students again, allowing him to wrap things up. "Now let's all get some rest and gather our strength for training. We'll begin first thing in the morning."

"Got it." Sasuke agreed, thankful to get away from these gloomy discussions. Kakashi straightened up and headed towards the door first, with Naruto and Sasuke following after him. The only one not moving was Sakura, who kept her eyes to the ground and the gears in her head turning.

"Wait."

The three males stopped at her word, two of the three looking over their shoulders to her. Sakura lifted her head and fixed her eyes straight on the only one not looking her way. "There was something else that Zabuza said." She chose her words carefully, concerned about jumping to accusation as she had a moment before. "What are the "Chain Breakers"?"

Kakashi drew in a breath. He'd been hoping that little information drop had been lost in all the excitement. The case with the Ametsuchi allegation was one thing, but there was no way Kakashi could risk that part of Naruto's past coming to light. For that he thought even faster, even harder than before.

"They're a political pressure group based in River Country." He put on his best poker face as he fielded this made up response. "They're strictly against the ostracisation of certain groups within the country-"

"That's a lie."

Naruto interrupted Kakashi in a heartbeat. Kakashi clenched his fist and looked at Naruto, warning him against saying anything more. But that outing right there was damning against his story, and any other story he would come up with would likely be ousted. Unfortunately in those three words Kakashi had lost all ability to control the situation in a manageable way. And so he relented, waiting to see the cards fall where they may.

Sasuke and Sakura both stared hard at Naruto, waiting with flickering patience to hear what it was he had to say. Naruto took a moment to collect himself before turning around, looking Sakura dead in the eye and speaking without falsehood or facade.

"The Chain Breakers are a group of unscrupulous individuals who tour Fire Country and its neighbouring countries all year round, doing whatever they like regardless of law and regulation." He rolled up his sleeve to show the tattoo emblazoned on his arm. "Though mine is variant, this is a sign of my lifelong connection to that group. For it was amidst them that I spent the entirety of my childhood, up to just a few days before my arrival in Konoha. I am, in the end, a child adopted and raised by bandits."

A hush befell Team Seven at the conclusion of this thorough clarification. Kakashi had an inward sigh, resenting Naruto's choice to be so very clear cut. He turned his eye to Sakura and saw just what he expected to see. Shocked, stunned, disbelieving, several other similar words that all came together to mean the same general thing. And that other emotion that rose through it all, quickly overshadowing it completely.

She did not direct her outburst to Naruto, but to Kakashi.

"What should we do?!" she demanded of her sensei. "Do we arrest him, or... but what about-"

"We're not arresting him." As clear cut as Naruto had been, so was Kakashi in kind.

Bewildered, Sakura half glared at her sensei, not sure what to think. But then there was a change in her expression, of consideration, led to a worried kind of anxiety. "Wait... don't tell me..." her chest hurt, her blood pounded in her ears. Why had Kakashi lied to her? "Do you mean Konoha knew about him from the start?!"

Sasuke winced. The memory of the first time he saw Naruto, in the prison of the police station, came back to him hauntingly. How his mother responded to seeing Naruto, and how nobody would say just what was up with the guy that had gotten his parents so worked up. Was this that dark secret that resulted in Ino spying on Naruto for a whole year?

"Rather, Hokage-sama was aware of Naruto long before he arrived in the village. He had wanted Naruto to join Konoha's ranks even with his background."

To this, Sakura's jaw dropped. She could hardly believe what she was hearing. The head of the village, whose duty was to keep everyone within the village safe, welcomed someone he knew to be a criminal not just inside the village walls, but to the village's _military?!_ The thought was inconceivable, its implications unforgivable.

"So what you're saying is that anyone can become a Konoha ninja even if they're criminals?!" her demand was rhetorical, and far louder than she'd ever gotten before. "Anyone's fine so long as they have the skill?!"

Kakashi didn't answer that question. Sakura was being far too hot headed to listen to reason right now. Anything he said would likely be twisted or rejected. So he decided to wait until she calmed down. Unfortunately in his silence Sakura was allowed to interpret something else entirely. Something she didn't like one bit.

Frustration got to her and she tried to find _someone_ who saw sense. In that search she found Sasuke, who kept his attention firmly away from the team. "Aren't you hearing this Sasuke?" she was beginning to sound shrill. "Why aren't you saying anything?!"

For this everyone looked at the only member of the team not to offer input on the matter. He glanced between them all with a frown on his face, wondering why he was being given so much attention all of a sudden. "Well... I don't know." He shrugged, resisting a flinch as he saw Sakura glaring daggers at him. "I guess Hokage-sama knows better than a couple of newbie Genin, so why not just trust him on this?"

When Naruto informed Sakura that he was a bandit, Sakura had been shocked. When Kakashi told her that the Hokage allowed Naruto to become a ninja despite this past, she was stunned. But this was a different matter. That Sasuke, the one person she had thought she could rely on to be on her side, was looking at her as if she was overreacting... it was betrayal. Sakura couldn't bear it.

"If that's the case then why don't we recruit Zabuza while we're at it?!" she yelled, then angrily took off into the trees. No one tried to stop her.

Things were not looking good for Team Seven right now. There was a risk that the enemy was still around. Though Kakashi wanted to give Sakura time to cool off, leaving her on her own out there wasn't safe. And he doubted either of her team mates would be able to convince her to come back so easily. But Sakura wasn't the only problem. He could see a look in Naruto's eyes that seemed shut off, detached. He had to have known Sakura wouldn't take that well, so why would he-

"_... Oh."_ Kakashi wanted to slap himself for his near sightedness. It was all coming together now. Why Naruto agreed to continue the mission, why he interfered in a fight despite his fear, and now, why he'd told the truth about his past. Kakashi looked at his student and realised.

Naruto wanted to be accepted.

Now Kakashi was torn. He didn't want to leave Naruto in this moment of vulnerability, when he was teetering on the edge of wanting to be a part of something bigger than himself, or denouncing it and returning to bearing loyalties only to himself. But the risk to Sakura was still very real. He had no choice but to go after her. At the very least however, he could say something.

"There's something you should know about Sakura." He said as he moved past his students towards where his third student had run off. "Her parents were both killed in a bandit raid."

Naruto and Sasuke looked sharply to their sensei, mouths hanging open. Kakashi looked at them both sympathetically. Neither of them had had any idea at all. "That's most likely why she has such a fierce sense of right and wrong. She doesn't have anyone in particular to hate for the death of her parents, so she chose to hate a concept instead. I don't think it's anything personal Naruto, it's just bad fortune."

Naruto's eyes slid off of Kakashi to the ground, his head bobbing in a faint nod of understanding. Kakashi took this as a signal that he'd be ok for now, and took off to pursue Sakura before she got too lost.

That left the two boys alone together, out in the back of Tazuna's home. They were both at a loss for anything to say or do, and so they merely lingered where they stood. Naruto regretted opening his stupid mouth now. But how was he to know that Sakura had lost her parents to bandits?

A soundless thought dropped in Naruto's head at that moment. A thought that had been buried deep within his psyche, unearthed only partially by what he had heard. He couldn't understand it, for it was so out of reach. Without even being aware of it, he had started following after Kakashi.

"Sorry."

Sasuke's voice ebbed through Naruto's consciousness, bringing him to stall and listen. "I knew she was strict about her beliefs on 'wrong and right', but I had no clue why." He tried to look at Naruto, but found it too awkward. "I'm not sure if she can look past this."

Naruto searched Sasuke up and down, wondering blankly for a moment why it sounded like Sasuke was trying comfort him, albeit poorly. He set his attention back toward where he last saw Sakura, feeling the awkwardness himself, but also that compelling feeling to go after her. "And you? How do you feel about all this?"

Sasuke considered this quietly for a short time. "The way I see it, who you once were doesn't matter. You're a Konoha Shinobi now, so I'll hold you to that standard." The certainty in Sasuke's voice was matched by the smile on the corner of his lips. "I'll show you respect you deserve as a comrade, so long as you return that."

That was... a much more touching sentiment than Naruto had expected. He had never once in his life been told that he was worthy of any kind of respect. And to hear it from a guy who once maintained a harem as a personal hobby... well, Naruto had to admit a faint admiration for anyone who could pull that off.

"I think that sounds manageable." He offered a faint smile to Sasuke, and then headed off after Kakashi and Sakura.

Sasuke followed.

* * *

It wasn't too long before Naruto and Sasuke found themselves pressing their backs against the damp bark of a couple of trees. They had found their sensei and their vexed team mate at a small bay. Sakura sat on the edge of the sand, looking out to the distant shore. Kakashi stood not far away from her, viewing Fire Country just the same.

For a long while no words passed between them. Sakura was content with ignoring her sensei's presence, even if she knew that was only a temporary measure. As for Kakashi, he wasn't sure how to handle a matter like this. He had heard from some that a sensei was just supposed to keep his team in line, and from others that it was best to create a sort of paternal/maternal bond between sensei and student. Neither of these were welcoming ideas to Kakashi.

"I told Naruto and Sasuke about what happened to your parents."

Sakura tensed. If she had the energy she may have turned on Kakashi, but she had taken too much already to have anything left to give in return. "Why?"

Kakashi looked at his female student and wondered again about what kind of sensei he ought to try to be to her. With an exhale he lowered himself down onto the sand and sat near to her, though not so close as to make her uncomfortable. "It wasn't my place to tell them that, so I'm sorry." He felt the apology was necessary, even if he didn't completely regret his actions. "A long time ago, when I was just a little older than you are now, I wasn't so different from you."

The water ebbed ever so slightly as the tiniest parts of the surf got through the bay. Sakura's lack of a response signalled her doubt, which Kakashi understood. People wanted to be understood, but they didn't want to think their problems were so easy to relate to. Even Sakura on some level probably felt she was fundamentally different from others. But then she probably knew how bleak it was to feel that way.

"I won't go into details, but I came to despise those that didn't follow the rules, and I loathed cowards. What I couldn't see was how that way of thinking was twisting me. It made me cold, and turned me into something I never wanted to be." His eye dropped to the rolling water. "It almost cost me the life of someone very dear to me. Worst of all, I had chosen to let her die."

To that Sakura couldn't keep from looking at her sensei. Even a solitary mind like hers could tell she was being told something important and heartfelt. "What happened?" by the time she noticed herself asking the question it was too late to stop.

A faint forlorn smile came to Kakashi's lips. "We were in a warzone, and she had been captured by the enemy. I did my best to follow the ninja code, even if it meant abandoning her. Obito, my other team mate, took issue with that. He told me that if a good ninja would turn his back on his comrades, he would crush the idea of a good ninja. If he hadn't shown me the way, Rin would be dead. And it would have been my fault.

Among the trees Naruto and Sasuke both let their heads rest against the bark while they stared off ahead. To think that their aloof sensei had such a history like that. For Naruto especially this was a big deal. Knowing that his sensei had gone through something as harsh as war, and had been forced into situations like deciding the fate of a comrade. Perhaps he should consider cutting Kakashi some slack.

"If our sensei hadn't spoken to Obito about some things I'd rather have kept private, then Obito may not have gotten through to me. That's why I told Naruto and Sasuke about your situation. I want things to work out between you three as it did with my team."

And in a second Naruto's head was hanging, an ironic smile across his face. Selfish though it may seem, he could hardly avoid feeling that last part was directed at him. Another little insight into all the good things his dearly departed father had done in his life. Still, if his old man had really been that kind of a sensei...

Naruto lightly shook his head. He didn't care enough to finish that thought.

All during the time those thoughts came to Naruto, Sakura had been sitting quietly. Now however she began to speak, and immediately he listened to her. "You're saying that I should let go of my beliefs and try to get along with Uzumaki?" and again Naruto's head hung. The slight slither of ridicule in her voice spoke volumes about the chances of that happening.

"Not really, no." Kakashi's response indicated that he hadn't been surprised by Sakura's rather snippy question. "I'd like the four of us to understand one another. If we can do that, we can see each other's point of view and support each other."

There was a harshness in the way Sakura looked even further away from Kakashi as she had before. "Why would I want a bandit to understand me?"

Again Kakashi was not surprised by Sakura's attitude, though he didn't condone it. He sat forward and tried to look at his student, though she was being rather obstinate about it. "It's not just that. I think you should try to understand him a bit better as well." He gave a pause for effect, knowing what these next words would bring. "After all, you're not so different from him either."

"Ah!" Sakura was caught so off guard at that, her reproach actually had a more feminine quality to it than was usual for her. She glowered at her sensei, all sympathy she had for his story gone. "How am I anything like _him?!"_

Now she wasn't even referring to him by his surname. Kakashi was curious as to what point Sakura would stop thinking of Naruto as a human being at all. Actually, curious was wrong. He was afraid of that. "Well to begin with, the two of you are orphans." He turned his head to face the water, knowing that Sakura would steel herself under his scrutiny. "You were both forced to cope with a way of life that neither of you chose for yourselves. For the person that made you both into, you have become disliked by those who don't understand you. That's why I believe it's important for you two to know about each other. Not just you and Naruto, but Sasuke and myself as well."

Sakura began to frown at the mysterious way in which Kakashi was talking. "Sensei?"

Kakashi glanced at her for a second, rather calmly. "It's true that Team Seven was formed because I am a high ranking ninja and you three graduated top of your class. But that was only the official reason. I only learned of this recently, so I don't claim to fully understand it myself. But there are some who think that the four of us _needed_ to be grouped together, for each of our individual benefits. I'm not your sensei for your sake. You three are my students for _my_ sake. Or so I hear anyway."

Sakura sat silently, staring between her feet. She wasn't alone. Sasuke was watching Kakashi and Sakura closely. He couldn't help but think about what happened during the bell test. That he and Sakura could put aside their differences and work together. Or that Naruto could get past his selfish ways and decide to be a part of the team. Had they really been made a team to reach that end?

Naruto's thoughts were indiscernible, but his expression was soft.

A good while passed by with nothing but the wind making the trees breathe peacefully. That very same wind blew through Sakura's pink hair, pushing it in her face so that she had to sweep it away. Her brow was creased and she appeared uncomfortable. She wasn't quite calm yet, and didn't plan to be soon.

She brushed her hair over her ear and slouched with an arm over her knee. "It doesn't matter whether he chose to be what he is or not. What matters is what he's capable of."

That soft expression Naruto had hardened almost unnoticeably. Sakura's sensible statement painted the picture about as clearly as Naruto needed it to be. Yes, of course it was like that. To her he was a bandit who could do everything a bandit could do, and more. If only she knew that he was capable of so much worse. But then, she didn't have to be. The Hokage was plenty aware.

And as she said, it didn't matter whether he chose it or not. Only what he was capable of.

Tired of listening to Sakura's spite, he picked himself up off the tree to take his leave. Sasuke saw him and straightened up in kind.

Kakashi noticed the faintest rustling and gave the tiniest look over his shoulder. It sounded like Naruto and Sasuke had moved. Since he couldn't see them, they had probably left. About time too. He couldn't imagine how things could sink any lower over here, but he didn't want to push it. If he and Sakura were alone now however, he could talk about something he'd been holding back on.

"You know, I've never had the pleasure of working with your mother." He reclined back with his hands and gazed at the thick clouds obscuring the sun, aware that Sakura was watching him again. "Though from what I heard she had quite the interesting reputation."

This was news to Sakura. It made her ache anxiously a little, but she wanted to listen. Her grandmother had never liked that her only child had become a kunoichi, so Sakura had grown up hearing nothing of her mother's ninja life. Even if now didn't feel like the right time, she wanted to hear more. "What kind of reputation?"

Thoughtfully Kakashi scratched his chin as he searched his memories. "Apparently she was the fussiest kunoichi anyone had ever met, always getting worked up over every little detail." A chuckle came to him as he remembered something good. "I do recall one time when I saw her with her team. She was still a Genin at the time I believe. Anyway, her sensei had caught a cold. Spent the whole meeting sniffling. Your mother took a handkerchief from her pocket, held it to her sensei's nose and made him blow into it!"

Upon hearing that tale, Sakura gave out the first laugh she'd had in years. It was a sweet sound, reaching out to the trees and making Naruto and Sasuke pause in their tracks and look back in surprise. Haruno Sakura, the stiffest girl in the history of the world, had such a cute sounding laugh. Unable to resist the urge to hear more, the two of them silently returned to the trees they'd been hiding behind and listened in some more.

They weren't the only ones warmed by this rare reaction. Kakashi found himself smiling and thought about some more things that might bring about such a response. "There was this one time that I worked with one of her team mates. We were spending the night out in the field when he suddenly looks horrified. The rest of us are on full alert, and I ask him what's wrong. He tells us that he forgot his vitamins. Just as another member of the group was about to hit him on the head for causing a false alarm, he said "Sayuri-oneechan is gonna kill me!" and well, no one had the heart to hit him."

"Sayuri-oneechan?" Sakura repeated, confused. "Why would her team mate call her that?"

Naruto's interest in Sakura's cuter side waned as he realised what they were talking about. Sakura's late mother. He pressed himself closer against the tree and listened more intently.

"Hm?" Kakashi had figured that Sakura would at least know that much about her mother. "Everyone called her that. She was always looking after someone. To her everybody was a part of her family, and always played the part of the elder sister."

Something about what Kakashi was saying seemed strange to Naruto. A woman who was always looking after others, no matter who they were. Was there really a person like that?

"It's how she got her nickname."

Wait... it couldn't be...

"Her nickname?"

No...

"You don't know it?" Kakashi grinned at Sakura. "She was known as "Everyone's Oneechan"!"

Naruto's heart burst in his chest as a causeless agony stripped him of thought and reason. He was blind from the shock and horror that crashed into his mind, rocking his body at his very core and tearing him away from present awareness. He was trembling, and he didn't even know it. His face was grief stricken, panicked, yet he didn't know it. All he knew was the face that was flashing through his mind, a memory he'd buried so deep he'd forgotten it was there at all.

From the corner of his eye Sasuke noticed that something was off with Naruto. He looked at his team mate and was shocked to see such an expression on his face. Naruto looked to be positively gripped by something. Sasuke looked around sharply, wondering if he'd seen something out in the trees. But even as he looked, certain thoughts were coming to his head.

"_I am, for all intents and purposes, a child adopted and raised by bandits."_

"_There's something you should know about Sakura. Her parents were both killed in a bandit raid."_

As an earth shattering thought came to Sasuke he found his eyes slowly drawing their way back to Naruto, his expression coming to resemble his distraught team mate's in so many ways as the doubts disappeared before he could even address them. That look on Naruto's face, and those words that had been spoken not so long ago, made everything crystal clear to Sasuke.

Even in the middle of a nervous breakdown Naruto could tell he was being watched. His eyes flitted to Sasuke and his body became wracked with that painless agony again as he realised that Sasuke was thinking exactly the same thing as him, and it was because of Naruto's inability to properly contain himself. Sasuke knew what Naruto knew. He was aware of what lingered in Naruto's past.

In his senseless, reasonless state only one thing came to him. He couldn't bear to remain under Sasuke's scrutiny, or stay anywhere near where Haruno Sakura was. Ignoring everything around him he took off into the trees, running as fast as he could and trying his damndest not to give anything more away. But even though nobody came after him, he was still being followed.

The memory of the worst moment in Naruto's life was catching up with him.

* * *

A seven year old Naruto stood in the carriage of a wagon, lit only by the afternoon sun coming through thick wooden slats on the walls. He was not alone in the carriage. Far from it actually. There were several people in here. Several captives to be precise. Outside the raucous din of the Chain Breakers distributing their ill gotten gains could be heard. Naruto had wanted to join them and grab some things himself, but that slipped out of his mind a while ago.

There was only one captive in the whole carriage that had his attention at that moment. Only one person he cared to look at. The woman from the brothel, who had sat with him after he cut his lip. But looking at her now, it couldn't be more obvious that her identity had been a lie. What prostitute would be found so far from her workplace, attired like a Konoha kunoichi? Naruto was too young to think that this might be some grand play by a gross fetishist. His naivety led him straight to the truth.

The pink haired kunoichi smiled encouragingly at him.

"We gotta hurry, ok?" he said, hurrying to her side and reaching for her bonds. "Sensei could be back any minute."

The kunoichi twisted herself as best she could to give Naruto a good look at what bound her to the carriage. He wasn't surprised at what he saw, but it did wrack his nerves. The explosive bonds his sensei always used at times like these. If the kunoichi tried to break free, the whole carriage and everyone in it would die. It was good for them then that Naruto remembered the seals his sensei used to arm and disarm these bonds.

Doing that wasn't very easy even with such knowledge. Naruto was constantly afraid that he'd mess up and make the bonds explode, which threw his chakra control out of whack. He didn't want to die doing something like this.

"It's ok."

The kunoichi's voice was so kind, so soothing, that just hearing it helped Naruto relax. Though still worried, he tried it again, this time with better control of his nerves. As he used the disarming method the seals on the bonds began to glow yellow. That was the sign that he'd gone too far to change his mind. If he stopped now, there'd be nothing left of him but charred bits and pieces.

Somehow he managed it. The light dimmed and died without exploding in his face. As soon as he understood this he grabbed a small switchblade from his pocket and cut the rubbery bonds.

The kunoichi quickly grabbed her aching wrists, rubbing them while breathing a sigh of relief that they were all still in one piece. "How many knives do you own?" she gave a small, sweet laugh before pulling Naruto into a hug. "Good job. Now could you please release the others as well?"

The feeling of her holding him close to her body left Naruto completely unresponsive. He could think of little more than the feeling of her warmth as she gave him that nice embrace. It was so alien, so very strange. Just like that time at the brothel. But now, he didn't hate it. Not even a little bit. In fact, he felt a little saddened when she pulled away to look at his face.

"Um... ok." He mumbled, hoping the darkness of the carriage would hide the burning feeling of his ears. He turned away and headed for the first person he saw. A slender man with dark, curly hair that he had learned to be the kunoichi's husband. He looked to be a lot more serious than his wife, but he could still afford to give Naruto a grin as he showed him his bonds. They were both good people it seemed.

Naruto managed to disarm the bonds with more confidence this time. He looked up at the kunoichi first before cutting the bonds, in case she had any reason for him not to. He saw her standing at the window, peering through the slats. Naruto was just beginning to cut through her husband's bonds when she moved towards the door.

"Hey, wait!" he stopped cutting the bonds and hurried after her, ducking around her and shoving the door closed just as she started to open it. "You can't go out there! Someone will see you!"

The kunoichi knelt down in front of Naruto, taking hold of his shoulders and looking him in the eyes. "All I have to do is get to the horses on the front of the wagon, and then I can run us all out of here." She cupped Naruto's face in her hand. "I promise nothing will happen, ok?"

Naruto's eyes flittered over the kunoichi's face, taking in all her features. He was scared for her. That was new. Everything this woman did was new to Naruto. He knew what would have happened to her if he'd done nothing to help her. And if he stopped her now, if he _could_ stop her now, then it all would have been for nothing.

Though it didn't feel good, he pulled himself away from the door and stood in the middle of the carriage, never looking away from her. She reassured him with another smile, and then looked to her husband. "I'll be right back." She promised. She then turned around and opened the door.

An arrowhead burst through the back of her neck.

Everything became an echo. The ghastly gasp that escaped the kunoichi's lips. The strangled cries of her husband as she began to collapse. The screams of the other captives as blood started dribbling down her skin. She fell back, down towards Naruto. By pure chance Naruto caught her and fell down himself. She landed on his lap, pain and despair etched across her face.

She was dying.

Naruto tried to speak, but only sputtered sounds came out of his dry throat. Tears were brimming in his eyes as he held on to the kunoichi, even as her blood pooled over his hands. He didn't know what to do. He had never been so scared in his life.

The kunoichi wasn't looking at him. She had turned her head, despite how painful that must have been, to look at her husband. Through the fear, agony and cold spreading across her body, she still somehow managed a smile. "I'm sorry." She croaked, her pretty voice reduced to a deathly rattle, tears falling down her cheeks. "I... love you."

Her husband looked like a spirit was wringing his throat. Amidst his sobs of heartache and loss he did everything in his power to gather enough coherence to reply. "I love you too!" His words came through gritted teeth, but the burning look in his eyes made his passion and honesty so very fierce.

The faintest and weakest of laughs got out of the kunoichi's mouth. Though she still looked only at her husband, with her last breaths she spoke to Naruto. "Don't look." She told him. "You're too young to see this."

Naruto couldn't help it. He couldn't tear his eyes away if he tried. He could only sit there and cry as the life drained from the kunoichi's eyes and she gave out one final exhale. She died in Naruto's arms.

"Sa-Sa-" the widowed man's breaths were erratic, his anguish blending with fury and bringing him to the brink of madness. "SAYURIIIIII!"

He wrestled with his bonds, pulling at them and stretching the cut Naruto had only partially made. He roared his effort and broke the bonds completely, snapping them aside and scrambling to his feet. Panicked by this terrifying man, Naruto tried to move. But before he could even attempt he felt a hand grabbing him by the scruff of the neck. The next thing he knew he was being thrown out of the carriage.

"NO ONE TOUCH HIM!" came a man's bellowing voice, just as the carriage door slammed shut. The sounds of struggle and screams rattled from within the carriage. Pain and suffering were absolute within those wooden walls. Death had fallen upon it.

Naruto lay in the dirt, alone and untouched by any of the bandits who had stopped to stare at the spectacle. The screams were driving inside his skull, bouncing across his brain and bringing him to his own plain of hell. He dragged himself back, desperate to get away. He left bloody palm prints on the ground, until he backed into some bushes and could go no further.

The screams subsided, and the carriage fell into silence. Blood dripped from the doorway, but Naruto refused to look. He kept his eyes firmly on the grass, not even looking as he heard the door slam back open, or the sound of someone dropping to the ground.

Even as he felt a shadow fall over him, he did not look up.

"Why did you remove her bonds?"

There was anger in his sensei's voice, but as always it was well controlled. Never once had his sensei lost his temper with Naruto. But that didn't mean Naruto wasn't afraid at times like these. Worse still was now. He could still hear those screams even in this silence, still feel the warmth of that kunoichi's body on his skin. The tears were still falling, and he was weeping just like any child would.

It was clear that he was in no fit state to respond. "If you had only left them alone I would have modified their memories and used them to throw Konoha off our trail." There was emotion in his sensei's voice, not all of it anger. He sounded like he was earnestly trying to understand. "You know I have done this before. Their lives were in no danger. So why did you free her?"

Naruto tried to offer some response, but every time he attempted to steady his breathing a fresh sob would disrupt it completely. The best he could manage was to snivel and cry into his arm, hoping that the Breakers weren't watching him right now.

With no answer to the question his sensei was forced to figure it out on his own. Whether it was simply good intuition or a thorough understanding of Naruto, never once had his sensei been wrong when he analysed something Naruto wasn't telling him. "She said nice things to you, didn't she?" he took Naruto's sorrowful glance to be confirmation of that. "Did she promise you a happier life in the village?"

Naruto was still bawling into his arm, but his sensei's steady voice helped him a little to gather himself. "Y-yes." He choked out.

A deep growl frightened Naruto. His sensei turned on the spot and glared at the bandits who were watching the show, scaring them into going about their business and ignoring him as he talked to his student. "How many times must I tell you that your life does not work like that?!" his voice was almost a snarl, but it still held some compassion. "There is no such thing as kindness in the life of a Jinchuuriki! There is only control and fear!"

Though it was difficult, Naruto made himself sit up. He was listening entirely to his sensei's words, forcing himself to focus only on those as much as he could. Even though he disliked hearing such things, it was better than lingering on other thoughts. He could hear the blood dripping into a pool not so far away.

"That village would prefer you to be blindly loyal to them. They would convince you that you are free to experience whatever happiness you like, so long as it conforms to what they want you to be. But if they even suspected that you were acting against such a thing, they would not hesitate to tie you down and treat you like a dog! You know why this is, don't you?"

Naruto's sobs had lowered, though his breathing was still erratic. The tears were subsiding, but he still couldn't bring himself to lift his eyes above the ground. "They're scared of what's inside of me." He answered.

"Yes. Make no mistake Naruto. It is not you they fear, but the Kyuubi." His sensei bitterly waved his hand. "_You_ they could discard like a piece of meat, so long as they have the fox under their power. _You _are completely insignificant to them. The only reason they would let you live is out of convenience. Simply because extracting the Kyuubi and sealing it in another would be arduous."

"Arduous?"

"A hassle." His sensei began pacing left and right, thinking deeply to himself. "I don't understand what you thought you stood to gain. You know this don't you? The sole reason you were removed from the village in the first place is because the Hokage knew you would be hated for what you are. How could you ever expect to find happiness within those walls?"

Naruto shrank himself into a ball, hugging his knees and hiding his head. He couldn't explain himself. After all his sensei had said, he felt like an idiot for ever getting fooled by that woman's...

Fresh tears formed in his eyes. He had wanted to believe in her. He still did.

"I'm sorry sensei." Was all he could say.

He heard his sensei stop and felt himself being studied. He kept his head low, not wanting his sensei to see that he was still crying. Seconds passed in silence, but then he was surprised as he felt a firm hand grasp his arm. "That's not good enough." Naruto was pulled to his feet and forced to look at his sensei's face. "You're childish naivety is going to get you killed if I don't do something to stop it." a brief silence filled only by the sound of Naruto's sensei running his tongue across his teeth. He let Naruto go and straightened up. "Tomorrow we will be undergoing the Segregation Ritual."

The shock of being grabbed had disrupted Naruto's feelings, to the point where he could only stare up at his sensei inquisitively. "Segregation Ritual?"

"Yes." His sensei confirmed. He then looked over his shoulder, to the carriage with blood leaking to a puddle below. "But first..."

Naruto felt himself following his sensei's gaze, and as a result found his attention back on the carriage. His sensei's words washed over him as thoughts and images of what had happened in there came back to him. Of what he had seen. Of what he had caused.

And what he had lost.


	13. Chapter 13

Ok, it's later than I usually like, but I think I've got a good one for you all here. But before you get to reading, I feel I have to clear something up. A lot of you have been asking about Hanabi's role in this fic. I mean, a _lot_ of you. So here's the best, spoiler-free clarification I can give. Yes, she is the second main character. That was no error on my part. Yes, this fic _is_ NarutoxHanabi. As for why she hasn't shown up yet, the reason is because I don't want her and Naruto's meeting to happen with Naruto as he is at the moment. All I can tell you is that you won't have to wait too much longer before you get to properly see her. Just don't get ahead of me, ok? I got a process, and I like to stick to it.

* * *

**A stranger in the mist**

The black of the sky faded into pale blue when morning came to Wave. The cloud stricken sky suggested rain, and a chill in the air made one wish for the warmth of indoors. Not everyone was so soft like that though. There were some who preferred the outdoors to the in, and had plenty reason other to not want to surround oneself in walls.

Naruto sat hunched in the crook of a tree, staring blankly out towards the waterfront. His lids were darkened by a night of sleeplessness, yet he looked no less alert than when he'd first taken post there. The idea of sleep was foreboding in itself. He dared not think of what may lay in the realm of dreams, with his troubles so prominent, so rooted in his psyche.

The night before Kakashi had suggested that he come in to rest, but Naruto wanted none of it. He'd hidden from Sasuke and Sakura, but Kakashi had found him later. He asked his sensei to allow him to keep watch through the night, promising that the stamina gifted to him by his demonic denizen could easily carry him through several days of wakefulness. Since Kakashi was in no fit state to undergo such a task given his exhaustion, he allowed it.

As the new day became steadily brighter things that had escaped his plane of sight were now clearer to him. He could make out the shore opposite the bank, the faint trails of fish swimming uninterrupted through the water. A travesty for a fishing village. These were disregarded though, in favour of the open window of Tazuna's home. There, sleeping on a bedroll in the spare room, Sakura could be seen.

Just as Naruto found her, he found himself unable to look away. The mystery of the girl who had struck him as familiar for so long now was solved, and the solution couldn't have been more terrible. There was no longer any scrap of doubt that Naruto had been born under an unfortunate star.

Well, perhaps he was being melodramatic. Reasonably speaking there was as much chance that the administrative department of Konoha was to blame as the gods Naruto usually held into account. Kakashi had stated as much. It was by Sakumo's decision that he and Sakura had been placed on the same team. Naruto didn't believe that the Hokage was aware of his connection to Sakura. Therefore, after much consideration, he concluded that this was all simply an inconvenient coincidence.

The worst part by far however was that Sasuke was aware of what lay in Naruto's past. Certainly he had reached it by simple deduction, with Naruto's lacking composure leading him there, but there was simply no way that Naruto could deny it after all that had transpired thus far. Of Sasuke's silence he had no guarantee. And yet, neither Kakashi nor Sakura had confronted him yet. For some this could be seen as a good sign, but Naruto was no optimist.

"_What should I do, I wonder?"_ Sakura turned in her sleep. As her face became visible to Naruto he lost all ability to continue watching her. If just that was beyond his capabilities, what hope did he have? _"Confess to the Hokage and request a transfer? Silence Sasuke and live in fear that one day he might talk?"_ Neither possibility he took with a remote piece of seriousness. _"I could just leave- urh!"_

He flinched, irritated, as the dawn sun broke through the clouds and struck him in the face. Guarding his eyes with his hand he squinted through his fingers to the horizon. Just what business did the sun have being so very bright this... suddenly...

For little to no discernible reason Naruto's lip curled in distaste and he appeared to grow rather irate. Bitterly he cast his attention over his shoulder, and found that the morning sun had cast his shadow against the bark of the tree. It was to his shadow that he directed his disgust. Even less than Sakura could he bear to look at this, though for entirely different reasons.

"You're finally done with hiding are you? Why bother showing yourself now?"

The shadow offered no response. It was a shadow, after all. And yet Naruto treated it as if it were a living, breathing person.

He stayed in silence for a while, a look on his face as if he were listening to something. Whatever he seemed to be hearing, it continued to displease him. "My mistake for expecting more from a leech." Another span of listening led to him sneering at the shadow. "If that's the case then how do you explain what happened yesterday?!"

There was absolutely nothing remarkable about the shadow. It moved as Naruto moved, faded as thin clouds passed over the sun, everything a shadow was supposed to do. If there was something there to be seen, it existed only within the frames of Naruto's fragile mind. Whatever was going on in there was not normal. Not sane.

"The only reason you exist is to remove any feelings that may cloud my judgement-" Naruto cut off halfway, and looked to be shocked by something. For a longer while than before he said nothing, the anger on his face growing hotter with each passing second. "I don't care _what_ you think you are! Can you take these feelings away or not?!"

This time the silence lasted only an instant before Naruto reacted. He snarled to himself and turned away from his shadow, directing his rage to the water. "Then what good are you?!" He spat. Again, the shadow did nothing but follow his movements in unison. And yet after that, things returned to normal. Well, as normal as one could perceive after such a strange outburst.

As far away as it was Naruto heard the faint sound of the door to Tazuna's home being opened. At this early hour it was of no surprise to him that it was Kakashi who ventured out onto the pier, looking around and taking in the new day. Without the will to obscure himself Naruto allowed Kakashi's eye to fall upon him, and did nothing as he was approached by his sensei.

Kakashi stopped at the base of the small tree that Naruto had taken roost in and leant against it, sharing in the view of the sunrise. "Good morning." He called out, unambiguously.

"Morning." Naruto gruffly responded.

"You're not looking too good." Kakashi commented. Though he didn't look as pale as Kakashi had expected, he _was_ in virtually the same spot he'd taken up the previous night. Kakashi had experienced nights like that, spent in the same place for many hours on end. Just thinking about it made him ache. "Maybe you should get some rest."

"There's no need, I can handle-"

Before Naruto could finish his argument Kakashi gave a swift but casual throw of a shuriken straight up at his student. Naruto swayed aside just a touch but lashed out with his hand quick as a dart. He caught the shuriken between his fingers, without so much as a shallow cut to the skin. He then dropped it back down to his sensei.

"Huh, I guess you _can_ handle it." Kakashi didn't mask his faint surprise as he caught his shuriken and put it away. "Just don't push yourself too hard alright?"

A faint chuckle came out of Naruto. "I have no intentions of passing out on the job, sensei." He picked himself up and stretched out what muscles _were_ tightened by his mostly still night. Then he dropped down from the tree to join his sensei on the ground, straightening out his clothes and fixing the hair that had fallen back to its natural place over the course of the night. "This mission of ours has been far too hectic thus far for me to offer our enemies a handicap."

At first Naruto's response passed by Kakashi as he watched the young ninja begin dealing with his messy hair. Again, with that long, spiky hair that fell around his eyes, he was reminded of his late sensei. The sight of it made Kakashi smile, although privately. He knew better than to say it to Naruto, but he resembled his father in more than just a visual sense.

It was good to see that Naruto was handling things this well, given how stressful the past few days must have been for him. For all of them. Kakashi was still stuck in thought about the interference that went down when the Demon Brothers attacked. While he had to keep a mind open to that, yesterday had brought with it even more problems that needed addressing.

"It appears you have a full course of enquiries before you." Naruto stated, glancing over his sensei. He then frowned to himself uncertainly. "Hm, perhaps that was a bit over the top. Perhaps I should have gone with..."

While Naruto murmured to himself Kakashi surveyed him, his interest piqued by this unusual display. Was this his way of dealing with strain? Losing himself in that strange little hobby of his? Kakashi could have amused himself with this for a while, but Naruto raised a valid point. With Sasuke and Sakura out of the way, now was a good time to talk about some things.

"Why did you tell them about your past?"

Naruto stopped his ramblings and looked at his sensei as if not quite knowing what Kakashi was referring to. It caught up with him after a spell and he glanced over to the house, no longer able to see Sakura from where he stood. "If we could be sure that Zabuza is dead, then I would have kept it quiet. But after all he exposed of me yesterday I think it might be best to come clean, in case he decides to reveal more the next time we meet. If that were to happen, neither Sasuke nor Sakura would have any reason to trust either of us, don't you think?"

It was sound reasoning, Kakashi had to admit, and an end he would have likely reached on his own had he not been nigh on wiped out from the battle. Agreeable though his logic was however, Kakashi had a feeling that Naruto wasn't being completely forthcoming, and an idea as to what it was he was leaving out.

"Are you sure that's the only reason?" he asked, not wanting to push his student into a defensive frame of mind.

Naruto paused, not looking at his sensei. His voice gave away just about nothing. "What other reason could there be?"

Kakashi shrugged aloofly. "Well you agreed to continue this mission even though you clearly didn't want to. You put your life on the line more than once to make sure no one got hurt." He softened a bit as guilt appeared upon him. He realised that he'd yet to voice his appreciation for Naruto saving his life. "You've risked a lot for this team. I think if it were me, I'd hope that my team mates would be able to accept me for who I am, especially after all I'd done for their sake."

It was tough being a mediator. The more he tried to look at one person's perspective, the harder it was to stay neutral. He had to remind himself that Sakura had good reason to be anxious about Naruto. But even so, he could see that her anxiety had blinded her to the good Naruto had done.

"I can't argue with that."

"Hm?"

Irritably Naruto confessed what was on his mind. "It's unusual for me to care about what other people think. The thoughts and feelings of others serve only to help or hinder the goals of oneself. That's what I believe." He shifted uncomfortably. "Or so I thought. Yet here I am speaking of things that do not benefit my purposes. The only reasonable conclusion I can draw is that yes, I do want to be accepted."

That last part came out bitter, as if he resented himself for it. Kakashi could certainly see why. People with high confidence tend to dislike the idea that they are not who they think they are. Naruto was not the loner he thought himself to be. Kakashi was gladdened by this. Naruto was starting to adjust to being part of a community.

He put a hand on Naruto's shoulder, earning the young ninja's surprised attention. Kakashi held an apologetic smile that could be seen through his mask. "I think I'm beginning to understand you a bit better now." He was aware of how corny he sounded at that time. "Though it might not mean much coming from me, I want you to know that I accept you as you are."

For a moment Naruto could do little more than stare at his sensei. But as the seconds passed a frown slid upon his brow, and he found himself averting his gaze. He appreciated what his sensei was saying, but something about his wording made Naruto feel guilty. It didn't take him too long to figure out why.

"I owe you an apology, sensei." He cleared his throat. Apologies weren't quite a strong point with him. "I've been difficult and disrespectful towards you because of your relation to my father. That was childish of me, and I promise to you that it stops _now_."

Kakashi stared long and hard at his student, not expecting to hear such words coming from him. When it all sunk in he gave out a long breath that turned into a short laugh at the end, and clapped Naruto on the back.

"This is getting a little too serious for my liking." He admitted, stepping past Naruto and observing signs of life over at the other houses. "But there is one other thing we need to talk about."

Naruto was ready for this. "You want to know about my chakra chains."

Kakashi looked at Naruto and nodded.

Naruto took a deep breath and walked towards the pier, standing on the edge of the platform and looking down to the water. He could hear Kakashi follow him down there, but his attention was largely on his own reflection. To think that he had broken one of his most strict promises to himself. Well, he saw now that a lot of the decisions he made when he first arrived in the village were childish in nature. Now was the time to start acting like a grown up.

"The full story is rather complicated, and I'm not sure I could abridge it particularly well. If you want to know the details it would likely be better to ask me about them once we're back in the village."

Kakashi joined him on the edge of the pier and cocked a brow his way. "How complicated a story are we talking?"

"It involves several events that took place over the course of a few years."

Kakashi snorted. "Ok, let's stick with the basics for now then."

At best Naruto could manage a sardonic smirk. No matter what, this was still a very touchy subject with him. If not for the conversation they'd had before it, Naruto had no doubt he would have clung to his secrets viciously. But alas, this much he could talk about without dredging up the uglier parts of his life.

"I've been trained in using these chains since I was five years old. According to my sensei... my _old_ sensei," Kakashi noticed this, and he appreciated it. "my control over them is quite strong. I can utilise them just how you'd expect. You've already seen all I can do with them. Zabuza, the Demon Brother, the bell test-"

"The bell test?" Kakashi interrupted without thinking.

Naruto nodded. "I can move my chains through the earth if I concentrate. When you buried me up to my neck, I used them to break down the earth around me so I could escape."

Upon hearing this, Kakashi's brow shot up. So that wasn't Doton jutsu? He had been curious as to why Naruto had never displayed that skill again during their subsequent training sessions. If the reason was because that jutsu was really his chain technique, and considering the look on Naruto's face when he'd been forced to use them...

"And what about the Demon Brother?"

There was an understandable pause before Naruto got to this. "I can also form spikes on the chains for offensive purposes. Though... I've never been able to form spikes that large before."

"...It's not uncommon for a ninja to achieve greater feats than they're normally capable of when they're desperate." Of this Kakashi was well aware.

Naruto seemed to understand this himself. "My most advanced technique is the barrier jutsu." A fish swam through the water and distorted Naruto's reflection. "But when it comes to the Kyuubi's power, the limits of my chains become more of the imagination than of skill." He looked at Kakashi with a faint smile. "I hope there won't be any need to demonstrate _that_ any time soon."

He looked like he was doing alright, but Kakashi had to wonder just what it was that Naruto was keeping to himself at the time. That burning look of shame as he used his chains to erect that barrier before. Kakashi understood that Naruto had problems when it came to his parents, but could using the power his mother was famous for really be such an embarrassment to him?

As much as he wanted to, Kakashi chose not to enquire further. As Naruto said, there would be time for that when they were back in the village.

"Listen. Now that we all know about your ability, there's no longer any need to hide it." he felt this went without saying, but had to make sure. "You understand that, right?"

"Of course." Naruto's words sounded more agreeable than his tone of voice.

The mood was going downhill again. But now that those matters were all out of the way Kakashi could try to pick things up a bit. A couple of fishermen passed them by as he was figuring out how. One of them had a watch, which told Kakashi that it was about time for everyone in Tazuna's home to start going about their daily work. That included his other students.

"Today I'm going to be teaching Sasuke and Sakura the tree climbing exercise." He stated, looking down at Naruto. "Since you are already beyond that training, in the meantime you shall guard Tazuna while he works on the bridge. I don't think we need to worry about another attack so soon, but it doesn't hurt to stay prepared."

Naruto met his sensei's gaze and was about to answer when something caught his attention from the corner of his eye. He saw Sakura leaning out the window of the room she and Sasuke had been resting in. A sharp twist in his stomach occurred when she looked his way. Even from this distance, he noticed the look of distaste on her face, just before she ducked back inside.

"Yes." He replied, hiding his despondence from his sensei. "I think that would be best."

* * *

In his childhood days Sasuke used to enjoy watching his older clan mates training. He particularly liked watching the athletic feats they could perform, like somersaulting through the air and performing parkour the likes of which left him in constant awe. His favourite of those athletic feats by far however was watching them run across walls as if gravity no longer applied to them. How he looked forward to the day when he could achieve that same skill.

Now, he found that he hated it.

"Oof!" he grunted, as his back hit the ground yet again. He cringed in pain while he got back up, nursing his aching shoulders. His jacket was filthy by now, positively covered in dirt from repeated falls. And on the tree before him, no more than fifteen feet above ground, were a handful of cuts to show his progress. Pity was that eight times out of ten he fell before he could make a cut. He'd lost count of how many times he'd failed. "Damn..."

About thirty feet away from him, Sakura hit the ground herself. But unlike him, she landed on her feet, and not from a failure at all. _She_ had from the very beginning managed to disappear into the branches above, straight to the very top. And then when she did that, she turned around and descended with the acrobatic skills she already possessed. A testament to her skill, or to Sasuke's lack thereof, depending on how you looked at it.

Sakura took off again for another try and Sasuke gritted his teeth. Naruto had been excused from this exercise because according to Kakashi his capability to walk on water proved that this particular test was beneath him. This same test that Sakura was acing easily, and Sasuke was struggling with so. Angrily he took a few steps back, gauged his position, and tried again.

"Urgh!"

He lasted even less than his record this time before hitting the ground again. The failure was a fatal wound to his pride and he found himself glaring at the leaves and branches above him. They looked so out of his reach right now it was infuriating.

A couple of seconds later Sakura dropped down again, though this time she sat upon a bough to recoup her strength. She had just managed to reach the top of the tree twenty three times before having to take a break. Based on Kakashi's surprise she was doing pretty well, but Sakura didn't think so herself. Until she had a high enough chakra capacity that this kind of technique was trivial, she wouldn't be satisfied.

While she rested, she looked off to the shore, where she'd last seen Kakashi. After giving them all the information he could he had given them some time to try out the technique on their own, and left them to it. For a while now he'd stood at the edge of the water, deep in thought. But now he was nowhere to be seen. Perhaps he'd gone for a walk or something.

Sasuke got back to his feet and Sakura shifted her attention to him. Kakashi wasn't the only one who had come off to her as distracted today. Not that she could blame them. Even now, thinking of Kakashi and Sasuke inevitably brought Naruto to her mind. And when that happened, her composure changed and she almost fell off the tree in her earlier attempts.

Ever since the events of yesterday Sakura felt she had cooled off to a reasonable degree. But still she couldn't help feeling that everyone was taking things a little too easily when it came to Naruto. Thinking back to the time she first sparred with him, she recalled seeing something in his eyes. A dangerous glint that now made so much sense to her. The others couldn't see it, or maybe they were ignoring it, but it was plain to her. Uzumaki Naruto was a guy with malicious intent, no doubt about it. Finding out that he was a bandit only cemented a certainty that had almost left her mind.

Sakura let out an irritated breath. Her mind was running in circles now. She'd had this very same revelation at least twice so far. Thinking about it now would get her no further. Instead she watched Sasuke as he tried to run up the tree again. He failed abysmally. Sakura could see that he was on his last threads of patience. Considering his oft easygoing nature Sakura wouldn't put it past him to disregard this exercise altogether if he could. Maybe she should offer him some advice, she thought.

"Try to-"

"DON'T-"

Sasuke cut himself off just like he cut Sakura off, but the effect had already taken place. A harsh silence befell the grove they were practicing in. Sakura stared at the back of Sasuke's head, bewildered and defensive. Sasuke took a second to steady his breathing, and then turned his head a little her way.

"Sorry." Putting his hand on the bark of the tree, Sasuke forced himself to calm down. He wasn't mad at Sakura. She didn't deserve his anger. "I need to figure this out on my own."

The chill in the air was due to more than the cold weather. Guilt sunk into Sasuke, but there was nothing more he could say. Sakura frowned at him for a second, before shrugging it off and dropping down to the ground. "I'll leave you to it then." The flaw in her forced politeness came not in her words, but her voice. Though she didn't deserve Sasuke's anger, he now deserved hers. Sakura was not the sort to let people off easy when it came to that kind of thing.

Sasuke did nothing while she departed. This continued for a while after that, until he could be certain that she was gone. When that moment came he hit his head on the tree, looking into the cracks on the bark while he berated himself. _"Nice going."_ He thought to himself. _"I thought I was good with girls."_

That said, he couldn't help wondering what might have happened if one of those girls from class had been his team mate instead of Sakura. He could see any of them just throwing blind support his way, certain that he could do anything. Well, that wouldn't have been so bad. At least in that case he could count on whichever girl that was having as much trouble with this exercise as he was, if not more.

"_Heh."_ The thought just came to him of what might happen if Yamanaka Ino was in Sakura's place. He could just see her teasing him about how worked up he was getting. Though the way he was now, he wasn't sure if he would have taken it well or not.

Taking a step back to look at the upper reaches of the tree, Sasuke was reminded of the challenge that faced him. It made him bitter to think that he had all of a sudden found himself so completely out of his team mates' league. Sakura made this look like the easiest thing in the world. Naruto was so beyond it he was excused from training altogether.

"_Naruto..."_ what he learned yesterday was still whirling around in his mind. That telling look on Naruto's face, that seemed to suggest he recognised something about Sakura's parents. Two people who died in a bandit raid. It didn't take a genius to work out the most probable connection, but Sasuke would gladly be called a fool if he could be proven wrong.

He had lost sleep the night before, trying to figure out what the best move forward was. As much as he would like to be disproven, he didn't see it as possible. Naruto at the very least knew something about the deaths of Sakura's parents. The whole reason that Sakura became who she was now, isolated and angry, was because she was twisted by the loss of her parents. For Sasuke to say nothing would be like denying her the chance to learn the truth about what happened. He knew that if it was him, he'd definitely want to know.

But then that would mean selling out Naruto. A guy who was just trying to make a new life for himself. Difficult would be lightly putting the way Sakura would be should she learn what Sasuke knew. So no matter what he did, he was doing wrong by _someone._

Kakashi was not an option, for obvious reasons. The undoubted investigations that would follow would inevitably get Naruto caught up in all sorts of unpleasantness. Other unresolved cases that some may try to connect him to. In the end, it looked like his only choice was to talk to Naruto about it.

Sasuke sighed. Why did things have to be so difficult? This wasn't how he envisioned his ninja career going. At least not this early in the game. That said, if this tree climbing exercise was kicking his ass, maybe it was a little soon to start thinking about a glorious future. Now he wondered if maybe he should have accepted Sakura's help.

"_No."_ He thought, scowling. He might have accepted the help, but there was one thing getting in his way. One thing he couldn't ignore.

He knew that Itachi had needed no help in this exercise.

Sasuke hit the tree. It did nothing but hurt him. Not that he cared. He just had to release his frustration somehow. Because he was aware that more likely than not, it was entirely his fault that he was facing this difficulty now. He'd copped out years ago from trying to match his brother's progress, and instead settled peacefully for second best in class. But now he was seeing that second best didn't account for much once he had his headband. Now he was the lowest level ninja in his team. And his own casual disregard towards his studies was the cause.

"Damn it!" he grunted to himself, hitting the tree again. It just made his hand hurt more. But the pain gave him some clarity. He knew all he could do was keep trying. So he stepped back to re-evaluate his methods, that he could try again.

When he did however, he felt his heart tremble.

He didn't understand it right away, but as he began to look around himself, it became abundantly clear what was causing this unrest. The clearing had gotten colder. The air felt damper too. But worst of all, visibility became infringed upon by water particles suspended in the air. To put it simply... a mist was rolling in.

"Heh heh heh heh heh heh heh..."

Fear grasped at Sasuke's innards as icy laughter echoed all around him. The horrifying sound seemed nearly omnipresent, but the more he heard it the more Sasuke could localise it. Without giving any instruction to his body, he found himself turning around, his eyes lifting towards the bough of one of the trees. What he saw there made his skin go pale and his hairs stand on end.

Momochi Zabuza was watching him from above.

The mercenary ninja, whom Sasuke had last seen as a corpse, leered down with a maleficent pleasure across his veiled face. "All alone, little wannabe ninja?" the sound of Zabuza's voice made Sasuke's body shake in terror. This was abundantly clear to the demon of the hidden mist. "If you're so scared, why don't you run away?"

As if he really needed permission, Sasuke found his legs acting of their own accord again. He scrambled out into the trees, desperately heading for the shore, where he was sure he'd find his sensei and Sakura. If he couldn't get to them, there was no doubt in his mind he would die!

The mist wasn't too thick. Sasuke could see the waterfront, but not his team mates. Dread filled him, but he didn't give up. They couldn't be far. Sakura had just left him a minute ago. It didn't matter who he found, so long as it was some-

Suddenly Sasuke was blocked by a wall of steel as Zabuza's blade sank into the tree just in front of him. The ninja himself was holding the blade, grinning down at Sasuke. He lashed out with a kick faster than Sasuke could see, hitting him straight in the gut and sending him flying back. Sasuke rolled across the dirt, landing on his feet only by purest of reflex. He held onto his stomach though. It ached so horribly.

"Your fear proves that you are not a ninja." Zabuza drawled, pulling his blade out of the tree and resting it on his shoulder. "Ninja are conditioned not to feel useless things like fear. The fact that a brat like you is allowed to carry that title is an insult."

Sasuke straightened up as best he could. His legs continued to shake, but he was beginning to understand. There was no running from this. His best hope was to engage Zabuza as safely as he could, and try to draw the conflict towards an open area. He could only pray that Kakashi was close enough to see.

With that in mind, along with the heartache of knowing he was likely about to die, Sasuke got ready to fight.

* * *

The construction site at the base of the unfinished bridge was where Naruto found himself. Amidst crates full of miscellaneous materials, he found particular interest in the large supply of rebar haphazardly sitting for anyone to be impaled upon. His eyes wandered to Tazuna, who was not so far away. If it were him who had been tasked with stopping the bridge from being completed, he could think of one messy and very demoralising method of doing it. He added it to the growing list of worst case scenarios to watch out for.

The bridge builder was hard at work scanning over his blueprints while nursing a flask of coffee in his hand. Even on his short breaks he was heard at work, double checking, triple checking, centuple checking for any errors. If he hadn't watched the old guy hefting girders around, Naruto might have accused him of looking for an excuse to slack off. But no, every breath Tazuna spent went towards making sure the bridge was built on time. It nearly made Naruto forget the drunken loudmouth that had hired them-

"_I have to talk to Sasuke-"_

Naruto grunted loudly and smacked himself on the forehead. For the love of god could he not finish a _thought_ without getting dragged back to that?! He had earned odd looks from the other builders for his sudden action, moreso than simply being a thirteen year old boy dressed like a butler. For that he put on some composure, but he couldn't mask his feelings from himself. This was so absurdly apart from the norm that it hindered him. He could hardly concentrate without exerting himself.

The builders, what of them? Any one of them could be an assassin in disguise. Naruto quickly glanced over anyone that entered his field of vision, even if they were nowhere near Tazuna. But what if they were outside his current plane of view? He could leap to the top of the construction hut for a better plane of view, but any assassin in the area would see without a doubt that Tazuna was being guarded by a ninja. Perhaps he ought to have hidden from the-

"_He could be telling them right now-"_

Sharply Naruto reached into his weapon pouch and took hold of a shuriken. He didn't draw it. He gripped it, tight enough for it to hurt, but not tight enough to make him bleed. The pain stabilised him, pushed aside extraneous thought. He hoped he wouldn't need to go any further than that to keep his mind off of that topic. Just because he could heal wounds that would kill most people didn't mean he enjoyed getting blood all over his clothes.

Tazuna watched Naruto while he sipped his coffee. He could recognise the look of a kid trying to solve a problem too big for him pretty damn well, if he could say so himself. His daughter Tsunami had been the same when she was young. Could never figure out what she wanted to say, so she'd just groan and be mad about whatever was on her mind. When it was her, Tazuna had done what little he could. It wasn't his business to pry into Naruto's problems though.

That said, it didn't mean there was _nothing_ he could do.

"Break's over!" he called out to Naruto, screwing the lid of his flask back on and grabbing a pair of hard hats. "Put it on." He instructed, tossing one to Naruto.

Naruto caught the hard hat and, somewhat reluctantly, put it on his head. Tazuna grabbed a couple of bags of cement and Naruto followed him toward the bridge. Cranes swung from one side the next, carrying the heavier girders up for the builders working along the scaffolds. The work force wasn't exactly huge, but those who were there were giving it their all. It sure was noisy.

Tazuna dropped the cement bags near the mixer, and grabbed a shovel. He stabbed the bag with the tip of the shovel and began feeding the cement into the mixer. Naruto turned himself away from this and resumed keeping an open eye on the goings on around him. Though the din wasn't so bad it gave him a headache, it did remove one of his vital senses for detection. He compensated by looking absolutely everywhere. Thankfully, the noise was distracting enough that he could manage this unperturbed by his own-

"_What if he tells Kakashi-"_

"You know..."

Just as Naruto was about to grab his shuriken again, Tazuna spoke up above the noise and drew his attention. The old man didn't look up from his work, but there was no one else he could be speaking to. "I understand that you're not doing this because you care about this country." He put the shovel down grabbed a nearby hose, pouring water into the mixer. "I just want you to know I appreciate it all the same."

Naruto spent as much time looking at Tazuna as he could afford. Every second he spent not watching the area made him all the more uneasy that he was providing some assassin with a prime opportunity.

"The people of this country..."

Tazuna had began saying something about how the citizens of Wave were resting the last of their hope on the bridge he was building. Or something like that. Naruto had already tuned him out. He didn't need to hear Wave's sob story a second time. Looking at the empty expressions on the builder's faces, none of them had nearly as much hope as Tazuna expressed. Naruto disliked endangering himself for a soulless bunch like this. These were precisely the type of weak willed losers the Breakers would...

Naruto pushed that thought away, though he did it much more calmly than he had with some of his other thoughts. It wasn't good to think from the perspective of a Chain Breaker. Though he had their mark upon his arms, he couldn't claim to be a part of that life any longer. If he didn't try, then in what way would Sakura be wrong about him?

"_Sakura..."_

Something inside him shuddered deeply, but this time he didn't bother trying to distract himself from his concerns. His heartbeat quickened and his body became restless. The moreso this was the more he found himself pacing around, eyes flying over everything, but taking in less than when he'd forced coherence. Nerves were getting the better of him and he thought he could feel a sweat begin to form. Just what should he do?

"- But when Kaiza died, the whole town lost its spirit."

For whatever reason, the words of the bridge builder broke through to Naruto at that point. Curiously he looked at Tazuna and raised a question. "Who is Kaiza?"

Tazuna briefly halted his work to show Naruto a perplexed look, though it lasted for only a second as dawning realisation hit him. "Oh, right, you weren't in the house last night, where you?" it was a rhetorical question; the answer was obvious. He picked up his work again with a more serious look on his face. "Kaiza was Tsunami's husband and Inari's stepfather. He saved Inari from drowning and became close to our family." He stabbed the shovel into a new bag of cement and leant on it, gazing out to the sea. "He was the hero of this village. When Gato started to take control, he was the one who fought the hardest for us all. But then Gato publically executed him to crush our spirit. None of us have been the same after that."

For a while the two of them stood in silence, Naruto watching Tazuna as the old man studied something that was not the ocean where his eyes were set. They were disturbed however by the shouting of one of the other builders, who came to Tazuna with a check board in hand. Apparently he needed Tazuna's signature for something. When he left, Tazuna finished his work with the cement mixer and yelled out to some other builders to make use of it.

Naruto followed behind Tazuna as they headed for one of the scaffolds hanging over the edge of the bridge. There the old man had noticed a couple of builders passing metal rods down so the scaffold could be lengthened. Tazuna joined in by hefting crates of something heavy and passing them along. All the while Naruto was awkwardly looking around for danger.

"If..."

Tazuna looked at Naruto from over a stack of cinder blocks. They were off the bridge and back near the huts, inspecting the blocks for broken or cracked ones. But Tazuna took an interest in the hesitance on Naruto's face and pushed him on. "If what?"

Naruto averted his gaze uncomfortably. He wasn't sure this was a question he was allowed to ask, but he wanted to know the answer. "If you'd known what would have eventually come of it, would you have done anything different?" He noticed after a couple of seconds he'd been unwittingly vague. "I mean, would you have stopped Kaiza from getting close to your family?"

At that moment Tazuna's work stopped there. He planted his hands on the cinder blocks and looked long and hard at Naruto from across them. His unreadable scrutiny made Naruto all the more uneasy. He certainly must have crossed a line to ask such a thing. When it came to the dead, he wasn't best known for his tact.

"Probably."

Naruto met Tazuna's gaze again and saw the bridge builder picking himself up with a sigh and a shrug. "As a father and a grandfather it's my responsibility to take care of my family with all my might. Of course I'd protect them from anything that would hurt them, if I knew for certain it would." He slapped the cinder blocks and moved along to the pile of broken tools, checking for ones that had been thrown out a little too hastily. "But there's no point worrying about that sort of thing. What's done is done. The only thing I can do is try to make things right. Like I said, it's my responsibility. No one's but _mine_."

Naruto forgot that he was supposed to be watching out for trouble and just stared at the old man as he worked. Tazuna's words ran through him and found their way to the reaches of his mind, where they echoed themselves incessantly. He gave them the attention they demanded, though he did so with a heavy heart.

"_Try to make things right huh?"_ for the remainder of the morning, he thought of little else than that.

* * *

Sasuke's breaths shot out of his mouth, turning into fog that was carried off in the breeze. They came out hard and fast, amidst the pained groans that escaped with them. Within his aching chest his heart hammered against his ribcage, threatening to explode in a boiling burst of blood. The adrenaline running through his system made him so terribly lucid. It only provided him with one merit. It helped him to live just this little bit longer.

A rustling in the bushes struck him with terror and he turned sharply away, running deeper into the woods. Or was he getting closer to an exit? There was just no way of telling by now. There he was; lost in a misty forest with a psychopathic killer on his tail. That was another thing the adrenaline did for him, now that he thought about it. It kept him from falling into complete and utter despair.

The mist struck trees flew past him at a blur. Try though he might, he couldn't keep his breaths quiet. Or silence his footsteps. He knew Zabuza could just as well as see him in this mist. Doing anything to change that as a mere Genin was simply too much to ask. The only hope he had in the world was that Kakashi would show up to check on him. All he had to do was survive until then-

Sasuke peeled to a halt, horror across his face. A tree loomed in his path. Zabuza was leaning against the bark, arms crossed and eyes set on Sasuke. His expression was that of a warning. Bore me and your death will be painful.

Sasuke's momentum was greater than his reaction time. He tripped over his own feet and stumbled forward, rolling across the ground messily. His eyes were pinned on Zabuza, who had not moved an inch, despite being mere feet away. The swordsman seemed to smile at Sasuke. And then he disappeared in a burst of water.

Just as that giant blade descended to slice Sasuke into two near symmetrical pieces.

Unconsciously Sasuke rolled aside, barely avoiding the hungry kiss of the blade's edge. Consciously, he reached inside his weapon pouch and grabbed a pair of kunai, hurling them at Zabuza when he was prone. Zabuza avoided the first with a simple turn of the head, and grabbed the second with his free hand. As Sasuke got to his feet and started running again, Zabuza casually tossed the kunai back at its owner. The tip of the blade pierced Sasuke's shoulder.

"AAH!"

He staggered from the shock and pain, but firmly ordered his legs to keep running. He grabbed at the kunai and, gritting his teeth, he yanked it out of his shoulder. It didn't feel like it had gone too deep, but that didn't make the pain any more bearable. Sasuke looked over his shoulder to see what Zabuza was doing. The swordsman was idly watching him for a bit, but then when Sasuke looked at him, he lifted his sword back up and began to give chase. _"Yes!"_ Sasuke thought viciously.

Beneath Zabuza's feet, a paper tag ignited.

The fiery explosion lit up that portion of the forest, though Sasuke knew better than to look at it when it happened. Just like he knew that he had no reason to stop and check to see if he'd gotten Zabuza with that blast. The only thing he was going to do was keep running. This mist was Zabuza's jutsu. It couldn't possibly go on forever. Once he left its radius, he could find his way-

"How very cunning."

Sasuke was stopped dead in his tracks by the Executioner's Blade, thrown to the point of being embedded in the earth mere feet in front of him. The sight of his own vague reflection in the steel showed that he looked every bit as unnerved as he felt. He turned quickly on the spot, trying to figure out what he could possibly do to get out of this situation.

"Tell me boy... have you ever taken a life before?" the mist thinned out just enough that Sasuke could see Zabuza standing in the bough of a tree, leaning against it, arms crossed like before. Instinct told Sasuke not to take his eyes off that man, but experience told him that there was more than a slight chance he was looking at a Water Clone. In his silence, Zabuza grew impatient. "The longer we talk, the longer you live."

Malice seeped into every single syllable of that sentence, and Sasuke sensed it so very much. It gripped him to the point of trembling. He saw this in his vague reflection. How pathetic he looked. He tried to buck up, but he just couldn't deny it. He was scared. "... No." He barely managed to say.

A single chuckle came from Zabuza at that response. "I didn't think so. But if that's the case, then are you trying to tell me that you planned to kill me with an explosive tag?" there was more of that malice in his voice, but it was accompanied and overshadowed by his amusement. "That sounds a lot like you Leaf types. All flash and noise."

That amusement waned a little. "It's a disgrace to the title of ninja."

There was a shiver in the mist. A flickering of the sword, the trees, the earth, the sky, even in Zabuza himself. But Sasuke saw none of this. His eyes were set only on the headband reflected in Zabuza's sword. On the Konoha emblem engraved on the metal plate he had achieved for graduating from the ninja academy. He then looked up at Zabuza, and showed the ex-mist ninja something different.

"You can say what you want to me." Sasuke's trembling hadn't ceased, but its nature had changed. He was no longer quivering out of fear. He was shaking with anger. "But don't you _dare_ insult my village!"

The fierce pride painted on the once scared Genin's face struck a chord of intrigue in Zabuza. "There's that Konoha fire I see." He remarked, dropping down from the tree and approaching Sasuke menacingly. "Let's see how long before you burn out!" he disappeared into thin air.

The mist was still thin. It seemed that Zabuza wanted to see Sasuke attempt to fight back. The thought daunted him, but Sasuke was in a bad mood now. He recalled his training and took off, refusing to stay in the same place. Zabuza was a Jonin class ninja. Just like Kakashi. And as Sasuke recalled, he had at least managed to stall his sensei for a while. That was over a month ago. He'd been in constant training since then. In his fear, he'd forgotten that.

Sasuke ran through the woods again, but in an erratic pattern that made sense only to him. With every turn he made he glanced at his feet, glad that Wave Country was such a humid place. Even if it had been a while since the last time it rained, there were plenty of puddles to be found. Though lacking, they did give him brief moments of broadened perception via their reflections.

It paid off, when he Zabuza within them.

Sasuke stopped and whirled on the spot, his hands in seals that summoned his kusarigama. Zabuza landed in front of him, not the remotest bit surprised to see the weapon in his hand. Sasuke slashed out at him with the scythe, but Zabuza dodged back easily, then retaliated with a sharp kick. Sasuke managed to block the kick with the chain, but it caused him to spin around. When he had his bearings again, Zabuza was already bringing his elbow straight down upon Sasuke's collar.

Sasuke gritted his teeth from the pain and turned around, throwing the ball weight directly for Zabuza's head. The ex-Kiri nin dodged it just like Kakashi had, with a slight turning of the head. Sasuke resisted a smirk, but then he no longer had to. Unlike Kakashi, Zabuza grabbed the chain so that the weight couldn't be used to strike him in the back of the head. Sasuke was just about to quick-seal his weapon when Zabuza yanked it out of Sasuke's hand. This threw Sasuke completely. The scythe slipped out of his grip. He hadn't been able to hold it firmly.

"Hmph, looks like I barely missed shattering your clavicle." Zabuza remarked, tossing the kusarigama aside like a plaything. "Even so, you should've switched the hand you were holding your weapon in." He lashed out at great speed, grabbing Sasuke by the collar and tossing him straight up in the air. "Rookie mistake!"

He punched Sasuke in the stomach and sent the winded Genin flying into the foliage. Sasuke cried out in pain as thorns gnawed at his clothes, bit into his face and held him there for Zabuza's sake. Zabuza walked towards Sasuke, enjoying the sight of blood dripping down the boy's cut up face. Nerves began to set in on Sasuke again. He could almost swear to seeing a demonic visage hovering over Zabuza's head.

"_Damn it!"_ he cursed to himself, struggling against the thorns. But it was no good. They held his jacket too tight. Zabuza was getting close though, and Sasuke had no doubt in mind that if he was still trapped by the time the assassin reached him, his life would be forfeit.

Awkward though it was, Sasuke wriggled his arms through his sleeves and pulled them within his jacket. It was just about the stupidest thing a ninja could do ninety nine percent of the time, but it gave Sasuke the only option he had. He could form hand seals. Better still, Zabuza wouldn't see him doing it.

"Hopeless." Zabuza drawled, coming to a stop over Sasuke. He reached inside his own pouch and pulled out a kunai, bowing down to deal the final blow. "Insect."

Sasuke glared at him. His cheeks puffed up. Zabuza got a bad feeling.

"_Katon: Fireball Jutsu!"_

Sasuke exhaled a huge stream of fire directly at Zabuza, engulfing the assassin in the flames. The nearby mist was evaporated by the heat, clearing the immediate area, but thickening the outskirts considerably. When the flames were gone, there was nothing in the thorn bushes but Sasuke's abandoned coat. Sasuke himself had taken that first chance he got to escape the trappings of the thorns.

He grabbed his kusarigama off the ground and sealed it away, then looked at the place where Zabuza had been. There was nothing. No scorched corpse, no wounded body lying a distance away, no nothing. Sasuke understood well enough what this meant. He wasn't going to make the same mistake as when he thought Kakashi had bought it. Until he saw a body, Zabuza was still alive. Most likely he had just hit another Water Clone.

The worst sign occurred then. Like the curtain falling upon Sasuke, the mist rolled in again, reducing everything to a grey haze. There were no delusions as to why this was happening. Most likely Zabuza was either satisfied or bored with the more upfront confrontation, and was preparing to put things to an end.

"You've got talent brat, I'll give you that." Came the echoing voice of Zabuza. Sasuke started to notice shadows rising from the puddles around him, and in seconds he was completely surrounded by clones that soon left visibility altogether. "But your skills are unpolished. You've not trained nearly enough."

The presence of the Water Clones stifled Sasuke. He could feel them moving around, even if locating a single one of them was impossible. The thought of them all ganging up on him at once was dreadful. His only hope was to fight his way out with another of the Uchiha Clan's Katon jutsu. The Phoenix Fire jutsu. Sasuke didn't waste a second. He began forming seals immediate-

"GAAGH!"

He cried out in agony as he felt a blade slash his calf, buckling him and making him fall to his knees. Blood poured from a deep wound, the pain was mind numbing. Sasuke tried to get up, to get away. But then, as he put his hand on the ground-

He felt a kunai stab the back of his hand, pass through his palm, and pin it to the ground. He screamed again as more searing pain flooded up his arm and to his brain. In a terrified panic he grabbed at the kunai to try and pull it out. At that moment a foot connected with his face and knocked him back on the ground, tearing his hand from the earth with the kunai still deeply embedded in his flesh.

More blood started to pour down Sasuke's face, his broken nose the cause. His eyes brimmed with tears he could not stop. All he could do was try again to get to his feet. He rolled over onto his front and attempted to stand. That was when the worst yet came. Just as he was getting to his feet, he stepped into a puddle. A hand lashed out of the water and grabbed him by the ankle. Horror-struck, Sasuke was about to throw a kunai blindly at it when he was kicked at the side of his knee. Words couldn't describe the sensation of feeling his leg snap at the joint. His mind blanked and he could only blubber a howl over the blood that seeped into his mouth.

He fell to the ground then, and that time he didn't try to get up. His body was wracked with so much anguish he couldn't begin to think of anything past the desperate plea for it to end. Anything, just so long as the hurting stopped. He buried his face in the dirt to try and hide his sobs, gritted his teeth to silence them. But the pain and fear made him puke his guts up all over the forest floor. He wretched and heaved until there was nothing left. All the strength that remained inside of him then was put to _not_ falling face first in the pool of his own vomit.

He barely heard Zabuza over the pounding of his own heart. He supposed he must really have been without a hope, if the Silent Assassin didn't even bother masking his movements. The far better ninja knew that Sasuke was essentially dead. Well, Sasuke was always willing to believe the ideas of those more experienced than him. If a Jonin class ninja like Zabuza thought so, then it must really be true.

His breaths wouldn't steady, his heart neither. His leg spasmed, his hand burned and his face stung something awful. The blood loss was making him see double. Things were getting hazy, and it was not because of the mist. Sasuke understood it. His life was leaving him. And that terrified him more than any pain Zabuza could put him through.

"_I don't want to die!"_ he cried to himself, his unhurt hand digging into the dirt. _"I want to go home!"_

Was this what being a ninja was all about? Was this that glory and valour all the Uchiha elders spoke of when they told Sasuke and the other young Uchiha just how important it was that they practice the ninja arts? This wasn't what Sasuke wanted with his life! If he'd known this was the sort of thing that was waiting for him, forget saying no to the mission! He'd never have joined the academy in the first place!

"Say your prayers kid." Sasuke felt the weight of the Executioner's Blade resting upon his shoulder. Zabuza would kill him in one swift cleave. But if he hit Sasuke there, like that, wouldn't he live for a little while? Live with the pain of being cut in two?

"Pl-please..." Sasuke started to beg. He knew there was no way he was getting out alive, but the least he could ask was that Zabuza severed his head, so there would be no pain to feel. "Not there..."

He could feel Zabuza's pause. The ex-Mist ninja was as surprised as he was. If he wasn't in so much pain, Sasuke might almost laugh at himself. Here he was, requesting the way he died. What an embarrassment. He could just see the look on his father's face. How disappointed he'd be.

And how his mother would cry.

And how Itachi would-

Sasuke flinched. His mind started racing a mile a minute, adrenaline bursting through his veins. Why?! Why in the hell would he start thinking of that guy now?! He squeezed his eyes shut to force away the tears. The image of his big brother came to his mind and he could do nothing to stop it. And then, of course, came his voice.

"_You and I are flesh and blood. I'm always going to be there for you, even if it's only as an obstacle for you to overcome. Even if you do hate me. That's what big brothers are for.__"_

"_Damn it!"_ Sasuke growled to himself, punching the ground with his unhurt hand. The more he tried to ignore it, the more memories that came back to him. Of that time his brother became alienated from the clan. Of how no one would explain why the beloved Uchiha Itachi had become hated. And how all those tensions seemed to just dissolve away for the most part.

"_Sorry Sasuke, but you're too young to understand. I'll explain when you're older."_

"_Shut up shut up shut up!"_ his blood started to run hot through his veins even if it was pouring out of his wounds.

"_That was a long time ago. It's best to leave it in the past I think."_

That was how it went, right? No one ever had to explain anything to Sasuke. Why did he matter? He was only the less impressive second son of the clan head. Who cares about what he feels? Nobody. His father always saw him as a subpar following to his genius son. To the rest of the clan he was an embarrassment. Even to his older brother, he was a stupid kid whose feelings didn't mean anything.

"Why..." Sasuke put all his weight on both his hands, ignoring the pain, the wooziness, the darkness. All he could focus on was the despair and anger that filled the very core of his being. A lifetime of being looked at as a joke or something to be ashamed of. A lifetime of trying to shake it off and pretend he didn't care. A lifetime of one question, that he asked of Zabuza, the one who would end his life. "WHY THE HELL WAS I BORN?!"

He forced his head up to glare at Zabuza with all the burning emotion inside of him. There was so much raging from that furious look that it took him several seconds to realise that what he was seeing was not what he ought to be seeing. Or rather, there was something unnerving that was going on.

Zabuza wasn't there. He had completely vanished.

Unsure of what was going on, Sasuke looked around for the Shinobi. But he could find no trace of Zabuza anywhere. Confused, Sasuke looked down at the ground. The pool of vomit was still very much there, but...

But there was no blood. Come to think of it, he couldn't taste it either.

A feeling of realisation struck Sasuke as he looked at his hand. Just as he was beginning to think. There was no wound. Nervously he turned and checked his legs. Right. No slash and no breaks. There was barely a scratch on him. He was still wearing his jacket in fact. Aside from his puke, it was like nothing had happened.

Like it was all a Genjutsu.

As this shuddering answer came to Sasuke, so did something else reach him. A calling at the edge of his senses. He scrambled to his feet and whipped around, finding the place where that odd sensation was coming from. He managed to find that place quickly, and what he saw there made his entire body freeze.

There was a figure, standing in the mist. Just barely there, but just enough to be seen. A person, looking straight at Sasuke, hand outstretched as if reaching for his. This figure, though Sasuke couldn't explain how he knew it, was smiling at him. There was no doubt in Sasuke's mind. This was the person who had put him under that horrible illusion.

"WHO ARE YOU?!" he screamed out into the mist. The figure only seemed to smile wider, before vanishing into the fog completely.

Sasuke began to give pursuit, but his knees buckled and he fell down. He looked down at them and cursed. His nerves were back in full flux it seemed. He turned his eyes back to the mist, but he knew that by now there was no hope of catching whoever that was. That stranger was already gone.

"SASUKE!"

A familiar voice came from the other side of the woods and snapped Sasuke focus back around. He looked at that direction just in time to see Sakura appearing from behind some trees, running his way. She had a concerned expression across her face, moreso when she saw all the vomit on the ground. Sasuke tried to stand, but his knees were still shaking.

"What happened to you-" Sakura began to ask. But then her eyes fell on Sasuke, and her voice vanished with a gape. She stared bewildered at the exhausted Uchiha, at a seeming loss for words. "What's up with your eyes?" she asked.

For a few seconds Sasuke had no idea what it was that Sakura was talking about. His eyes? What could be wrong with his-

Wait... how did he break that Genjutsu?

Without a second of hesitation Sasuke rolled over and crawled hands and knees to the nearest puddle. There was no way, it couldn't be, could it? He found one, and knelt at the edge of it, just about to look in. If this was what he thought it was... he couldn't hold it back any longer. He steeled himself, and looked down at his reflection.

He couldn't believe what he was seeing. Where his eyes were usually pitch black, they were now red, with two black tomoe encircling each pupil. The sight of such a thing, the legendary Uchiha doujutsu... the Sharingan...

He finally had it.


	14. Chapter 14

Ok, announcement to make. Updates are gonna come as they come, as opposed to my desperate attempts to stick to a 2-week update rate. The reason being that I'm taking on a second fic to try and keep things fresh and interesting. I think jumping between one world to another will keep things from stagnating. What's this second fic, you may ask? Well, unless you're a brony you probably won't be interested, so let's leave it at that. If you are, you can find the fic on my profile or on FiMFic, under the same pen name. Getting back to _this_ fic, you know the deal. Enjoy this chapter and share with me your views on it.

* * *

**Tough choices**

There was little talk going on at the dining room table for quite some time. The team sat in silence as Kakashi took in all that he'd been told thus far. Sasuke fleetingly glanced between his sensei, his team mate and the window, not sure how he ought to be feeling. Sakura could hardly take her eyes off of him, remembering what she saw when she found him lying in a pool of his own vomit.

And just out of view, past the window, Naruto listened in on it all.

"Why isn't Uzumaki here?" Sakura asked, looking outside the window for the missing member of their team. Not that she particularly wanted to see him, but a team meeting meant he ought to be with them.

"He's getting some rest." Kakashi half waved the question away, his mind on other matters. "He stood guard all through the night _and_ guarded Tazuna all day long after all." He leant forward on the table and laid his hands out as if displaying a map in front of him. "Let's go over what we've learned and see if we can't come up with any ideas.

"First, we left the village and were attacked by the Demon Brothers a few miles out." He tapped his right hand on the table as if to indicate a rough location. "However during the course of the encounter nearly all of us were knocked unconscious. While we were all out of it, someone killed the Demon Brothers."

"Uzumaki..."

Sakura had begun to mention that it was Naruto who took down the first ninja, but it made her recall the situation they were in. The two of them had fought together, Sakura defending herself and Naruto with his sword. And then he hit that ninja... and killed him. Her expression stiffened then and she finished what she was saying. "Uzumaki killed one of them, and was the only one who wasn't knocked out."

Kakashi nodded. "Though we've already established that since it's not possible that Naruto could have knocked out the four of us like that. It looks to me that it was a foreign element that was responsible for what happened then."

"If it was someone from Konoha, there would be no reason to hide, would there?" Sasuke offered his input.

"It could be. We can't turn down the possibility that for whatever reason, we're being watched by our own. Though at the same time it'd be stupid to not take every precaution. Even on the off chance that foreign element _is_ a fellow Konoha ninja, we should treat him or her as a threat until we can figure out their reasons for hiding from us."

Sakura seemed incredulous. "Is it really likely that it's another Konoha ninja that knocked us all out?"

Kakashi shook his head. "No, I was... never mind." They were getting off track. "What matters is that someone is interfering with our mission and won't confront us face to face." He tapped his left hand on the table and gestured to Sasuke. "Now we have someone attacking Sasuke with Genjutsu. Someone who refuses to show himself. Sound familiar?"

"So they're connected." Sasuke offered.

"If not the same person altogether." Kakashi confirmed. "Now let's look at the facts. The first interference resulted in no fatalities on our side, and indeed our enemies getting taken out. This can be seen from two perspectives. Either the unknown party acted to protect us without giving away their identity. Or for whatever reason they needed the Demon Brothers dead and couldn't risk getting us involved."

"If it's the latter case, then that would explain why there would be someone like that out there, if they weren't from Konoha." Sakura reasoned.

"And if it's the first case, it's unlikely that the responsible party _isn't_ from the village." Sasuke finished.

Naruto kept silent during this exchange; though he listened to every word his team spoke. They were too quick to ignore the possibility of a coincidental encounter, he thought. With Konoha being so close to where they were, any ninja for any reason that was headed for the village could have come across them at that time. In order to offer their help without causing a complicated situation, they could have interfered in such a way.

"Of course there's also the possibility that it was a ninja from another village who just happened to be going to Konoha, and knocked us out to avoid arousing suspicion." Kakashi observed, bringing Naruto to a smirk.

Drumming her fingers across the surface of the table, Sakura could have burned a hole in the wood with her stare. "Why would someone who was helping us one day attack us the next?" she agreed the connection between the two events was impossible not to see, but there was that vital flaw that begged consideration.

Sasuke darted his attention across Sakura. Ever since that confrontation he'd found himself taking in a lot more details with his eyes than he usually did, even if he wasn't using the Sharingan. "I'm not so sure that's what happened." As the one who was attacked, he felt he had the most insight on the matter. "On the first occasion the unknown party was capable of knocking nearly all of us unconscious before any of us even knew what happened. But in the second case the unknown party not only shows himself, but runs off right before Sakura showed up. The two behaviours are too different."

"In other words, we're definitely dealing with more than one individual." Kakashi surmised thoughtfully. "Good analysis, Sasuke."

"That's not all." For a while now Sasuke had uncomfortably felt as if he'd missed something when he explained what happened out there in the woods. Now however, one small factor was coming back to him. "That guy... I think he was young. He wasn't very tall and... I just got the feeling he was around our age." His face reddened as he realised he was rambling. "Sorry, forget it."

"It's not impossible." Kakashi gave it due consideration. "I wouldn't put that hunter-nin at being much older than you three." He rubbed his chin. "Though I doubt those two are the same person. It's clear the hunter-nin shares Zabuza's motives, and this mysterious person does not."

There was little more anyone else had to contribute to this discussion. That included Naruto, who was beginning to feel the throes of tiredness coming over him. He stayed firm for the time being however. After all, he didn't want to miss anything important.

"Moving along." Kakashi could see there was nothing more to be found from that subject and resolved to consider it more on his own later. "Can you activate your Sharingan right now, Sasuke?"

Everyone but Naruto watched as Sasuke fixed his eyes upon the table and concentrated. His brow furrowed from his effort and he even looked to be in a bit of pain. But after a few seconds the black in his eyes faded into red, leaving only his pupils and the spinning markings of the Sharingan. He needed no confirmation that he had achieved this feat this time. Even raising his eyes to look at Kakashi, he could see the world in a whole other way.

Kakashi smiled at him. "How does it feel?"

"Like..." Sasuke thought about it while looking between his sensei and team mate. Sakura was staring at him hard, taking in this strange new image he had. Sasuke looked right back at her, watching every tiny movement she made, from her blinking to her breaths. "It's like my eyes are working a second ahead of time. I can tell what's just about to happen before it actually happens."

An odd thought came to Sakura's head as she watched Sasuke. Was he... copying her position? She cocked her head to the right. As did he, in perfect harmony. Disgruntled by this, she sharply cocked her head the other way. Which he also mimicked in unison to her. Suddenly Sakura clapped her hands, slapped the table and then palmed her face. And again, flawlessly, Sasuke copied her.

"WOULD YOU QUIT THAT?!" she demanded.

Kakashi gave out a laugh and Sasuke grinned at Sakura, who could only pout in return. "It looks like you're getting a pretty fast handle of it, but I think it would be best if we put it to the test tomorrow." Kakashi tapped his head plate where it obscured his eye. "Though my control isn't as strong as a full blooded Uchiha's, I think I can bring you up to pace in a day."

As Sasuke met his sensei's look his eyes faded back to their normal black. While not too strenuous, he could feel the chakra drain from keeping them active. And after a day like today, chakra was not something he had a huge supply of at the moment. "Sensei... why do you have a Sharingan?" he asked with a troubled expression.

Kakashi levelled himself with Sasuke. "That's a story for another time." It was certainly not something he was comfortable talking about. "Let's keep our eye on the ball." He then looked at Sakura. "I'll be putting all my attention on training Sasuke's Sharingan tomorrow, so there will be nothing for you to do with us."

Sakura had figured as much. "Then I'll-"

"Guard Tazuna-san with Naruto."

Naruto stiffened. His awareness of his female team mate suddenly escalated to a higher degree. Without even looking in the room he could tell where Sakura was roughly by the sound of her voice. It was almost as if he were right beside her. And that made him so terribly uncomfortable.

Though despondent, Sakura gave a nod. "I understand."

Kakashi studied Sakura for a little while. He could see she wasn't happy with his order, but she was far too by-the-book to even consider complaining. "The day after that I'll give you some one on one training as well." He turned his eyes from her to Sasuke, and even looked at the window. "And after that we'll train as a team in strategies for dealing with Zabuza."

The three of them, Naruto included, gave their nods of understanding.

"Well then, with that out of the way, let's all recuperate for the days ahead." Kakashi stood from the table and left the room, seeking out Tazuna to inform him of his guard detail.

For a minute the rest of Team Seven remained silent. They were all in deep thought about what was to come. Sakura was the next one to rise, headed outside to clear her head. Sasuke left not long after, his eyes on the ceiling. It looked like now was as good a time as any to have that talk with Naruto.

* * *

The afternoon sky brought with it a calming orange hue that looked not so different from the evenings of Konoha. Naruto regarded this as he lay beneath the sky, upon the futon he had rolled out on the balcony so that he could enjoy such a view. Though he tried to think of it as such, his mind inevitably corrected him. The evening skies of Konoha looked the same as everywhere else. That was the nature of the sky. A consistency unrivalled by what could be found on the surface of the earth.

The sound of the door to the room beside him opening up came just as he had expected it to. He offered no greeting as someone appeared through the open doorway to the balcony. But he did look to his visitor. Sasuke was watching him with an unkempt look on his face. Though Naruto tried to maintain his composure, he found himself unable to continue looking at his team mate. It was abundantly clear why Sasuke was here. Though it was the second most favourable outcome after Sasuke not realising at all, it was still far from a desirable scenario in Naruto's mind.

And yet despite his approach it was rather obvious that Sasuke was as unwilling to go ahead with these proceedings as Naruto was. That he had chosen to come up here like this without having the resolve to follow through was not as much of an irritation to Naruto as it usually was. Alas he knew what had to be done, and was of no mind to put off this encounter for much longer. Having said that, he didn't mind delaying a _little._

"Congratulations." He would have risen had his muscles not been so completely stiff from two days and one night without proper rest. Even so he was able to go through the proper decorum to an extent. "I imagine there will be celebrations within the Uchiha Compound upon our return to Konoha."

Sasuke had little to offer in response to such a thing. He himself had been uncertain as to how this news would be received by his family. It wouldn't surprise him to see a look of relief on each of their faces. Though the rest of the ninja world managed to get by just fine without the Sharingan, the Uchiha looked upon that doujutsu as if life without it was no life at all. After receiving a taste of the clarity it gave him, Sasuke had to confess that he understood their feelings somewhat.

"What you have to go through to get it kind of dampens the value of the whole thing." He stepped onto the balcony and leant against the wall, looking out towards the bridge to the further distance. Though his eyes were directed there, his consciousness was on his body. On the memories of the pain and suffering that turned out to be just an illusion. "Attaining the Sharingan is always treated with quiet respect among the Uchiha. I can see why."

Insensitive though it may have looked, Naruto came to smile from that. "I know how you feel." When he felt Sasuke's doubtful eyes fall upon him, he rubbed his upper arm where the Replication Array could be found. "I can take a sword through the stomach and survive, thanks to these seals on my arms." He met those doubtful eyes with his own, rather cold variant. "Though my sensei didn't go that far to test them, I imagine my point has been made."

It certainly had, Sasuke thought, with a touch made to his nerves. Though the end result was rather similar in that neither of them had the wounds to show for their experiences, the recollections were there to stay. Just as Sasuke had no desire to relive the story of how he gained his Sharingan any more than he already had, he knew better than to ask Naruto to relive his tales of woe.

And yet there was one such tale he had to ask about.

"What happened yesterday..." Sasuke's words trailed off. He didn't know how to put it, so he hoped Naruto would know what he was talking about.

"With Zabuza?" Naruto's voice was rather light hearted, given the confrontation he was referring to. "I understand that my actions were not conducive to one who acts as a part of a team, but I felt, and still feel, that things may not have gone so well had I included you and Sakura in my plans."

Sasuke's attention slid down from the bridge as it was drawn to another, much closer matter. He spotted Sakura entering his plane of view as she took a walk along the docks. "... You know that's not what I'm talking about." The expression Naruto had worn at that time was still vibrantly clear to him. "You suddenly reacted when you heard the nickname that Sakura's mother had. Why would that mean anything to you?"

Like Sasuke, Naruto refused to look at his male team mate. Unlike him, he did not look to Sakura, despite being very aware of her presence. "I'd rather not lie to you." He stood by his desire to be honest with his team, though recent events had made him question whether he should follow through with that desire or not. "If you have a theory I'll listen to it."

There was a twitch in Sasuke's expression then. He knew that Naruto was being difficult for the sake of protecting himself, and would allow Sasuke to think whatever he thought whether it was the truth, or especially if it wasn't. "She lost her parents to a bandit attack." He decided to cut right to the heart of the matter. "I'm asking you if you were affiliated with that particular bandit group."

And like that, all hopes for hiding his scars faded away. Naruto stared at the thickening clouds overhead and tried to keep his memories away from awareness. But, as per the nature of memories, he found himself haunted by them. Perhaps this was karma demanding that he right the wrongs of his past.

"Yes."

As if that one word carried all the weight of the world, Sasuke slid down the wall at the loss of strength in his legs. Speechlessness came to him and Naruto was in no rush to continue the subject, as necessary as that was for both of them. What resulted was a full minute without a single word uttered between them. But eventually someone had to speak.

"Were you there?"

Solemnly Naruto nodded. "I was."

An exhale slid out of Sasuke's nose, his eyes closed to the world. It was as he suspected, but it made the news no easier to bear. He sat there quietly as Naruto watched him, aware but unresponsive to the attention. He couldn't concentrate on the here and now. Not when Sakura's presence had become like a beacon before him. No matter how he tried, he couldn't tear his focus away from her.

In their first and second year of the academy, Sakura had been a completely unremarkable girl in every respect. As a matter of fact she was sometimes the subject of bullying for that forehead of hers. But she disappeared before the end of the second year. Everyone had thought she had dropped out. Then she returned for the start of the third year, familiar in form, but not in personality. To think that this was the reason why she had gone through such a change... or that someone related to the cause of said change was laying not even a metre away from him.

"What are the odds?" Sasuke barely breathed those words.

"That's what I've been asking myself all night and all day."

A damp wind rolled over the balcony and sent a chill running down both their spines. Naruto pulled the futon further over him, but it didn't rid him of the discomfort he was continuing to go through. Such affairs could prolong themselves for eternity and beyond. But just as Sasuke had to begin with, Naruto had to cut to the heart of the matter.

"Are you going to tell anyone about this?"

As expected, Sasuke didn't provide him with an answer right away. He knew well enough what he would be doing to Naruto if he breathed a word of what he'd learned to anybody else. Yet at the same time it would be a black mark on his conscience if he were to keep such a secret from Sakura. Against his common nature he had gone and gotten himself caught between a rock and a hard place. Though perhaps on this occasion he was not completely out of options.

"It's none of my business in the first place." He eventually decided. Though it did nothing to clean that mark away, he had to distance himself from this whole ordeal as much as he could. Unfortunately he couldn't get too far. Though his common nature would try, his better nature would not. "I think you should at least tell Kakashi-sensei about it. But... I really think you should tell Sakura. She deserves to know the truth."

The wind picked up further and the orange of the afternoon sky was fading away. There was little doubt about where the course of the night was going. Reluctantly Naruto had to acknowledge that he'd be sleeping indoors tonight.

A thought came to Naruto that had him look into the room next to him. This was the guest room where Team Seven were staying during their time as Tazuna's guard. If he was going to sleep inside, that would mean sleeping in the same room as Sakura. How was he going to manage that, when he had thus far been unable to even stand in the same room as her?

With that Naruto understood how it was that things had to be. How the coming days would treat him. And how he was going to have to act in order to preserve some semblance of stability during this delicate time. "I'll give it some thought." He spoke the truth, even if he didn't like said truth. "But I won't say anything until this mission is over with. Now isn't the time to be dropping such bombs on anyone, Kakashi _or_ Sakura."

The cold was getting to be a bit too much for Sasuke to sit through. After a second of thought he lifted himself to his feet and went to the door. "You're right." He stopped said door and looked down at Naruto. Though what he had learned was hard to think about, he was grateful that Naruto had been honest with him. "But... you should know..."

Naruto looked at Sasuke with a cocked brow. "Know what?"

Sasuke had an embarrassed look about him then. "I'll back you up if you decide to tell her." He looked away, rubbing the back of his neck. "I mean, I'll still back you up even if you don't, but... you know?"

Naruto searched Sasuke's face in the reflection of the glass, surprised beyond a fragment of composure. "... Why?"

"What do you mean why?!" Sasuke half snapped, already irritated that he had to go and say such an awkward thing. "It's what team mates do alright?"

And with that, without waiting for any further word, Sasuke left Naruto to his own devices. Even in his absence Naruto was still shocked from what had been said to him. He slid back onto his back and stared up at the now overcast sky, rather bewildered from the conversation as a whole.

It wasn't until the first drops of rain started to fall, that Naruto was finally able to crack something of a smile.

* * *

Naruto was so terribly exhausted after his past few days of effort, he fell into a slumber deep enough not to be stirred by his team mates as they each crept in to rest for the night.

* * *

"_Happy birthday!"_

The sound of footsteps creaking on floorboards woke Sakura up from a deep sleep. Her eyes fluttered open and found the ceiling, lit up by the early morning sun. A tickling sensation on her face urged her to scratch at it. She touched the spot and found something wet to be there. She woke up a little more as she realised that she'd been crying in her sleep again.

Making herself sit up, she hastily wiped her eyes away to get rid of any tears that were still there. How long had she been like this? Did it show on her face? Worried that someone might see her like this, she looked around for her team mates. Luckily for her it looked like Kakashi and Sasuke had already left to begin their day of training. And Naruto was still fast asleep.

Sakura stared at Naruto for a little while, knowing that she would have to spend the day in his company. The thought might have made disgruntled her, if she wasn't feeling so fragile. Right now she'd take even Naruto's presence if it meant getting her emotions under control. The threat of being noticed giving in to such feelings was much too embarrassing for her to bear.

Taking a calming breath that did little to its name, Sakura absently reached out for her headband beside her. There was a flicker of surprise when her fingers found paper on top of metal. She grabbed the odd paper and looked at it. It was folded note that had been left on her headband. Natural curiosity brought her to open it and read what was inside.

"_Don't make Naruto an enemy because it makes things easier. He's one of us now."_

The words did more to steady Sakura's mind than that so called calming breath had, though not in the way she'd wanted. It didn't take a genius to know that it was Sasuke who'd written this note. He was the only one who would say such a thing to her.

Little though she wanted to, she made herself look at the sleeping Naruto again. Sasuke believed that Sakura was making Naruto an enemy for the purpose of venting her frustrations upon. If not for the fact that she had already confessed committing such an act upon Sasuke, _to_ Sasuke, she might have been offended by this.

Normally she'd blow off such a comment, but since it was Sasuke who'd said it she felt the need to give it some thought. She'd acknowledged to herself that the way she'd treated Sasuke was not the right way to act, even if Sasuke had reciprocated such actions in kind. It wasn't about moral high grounds. It was just about doing what was right. And when dealing with someone like Naruto, the right way to act was very important in Sakura's mind.

Pocketing the note, she took her headband and tied it in its place. Then, like her sensei and team mate had, she silently got up, put the futon away and left Naruto to his slumber. She'd have the whole day to spend with him. A short time to be alone wasn't such a bad thing to want, was it?

She stepped out into the hall, peering around the dull corridor and listening for signs of life. Faintly she could hear the sound of water running from the kitchen downstairs, so she headed down there to greet whoever was awake.

In the kitchen she found Tazuna's daughter Tsunami to be in the middle of cleaning some vegetables. The sight of the big cooking pot and other meagre ingredients filled Sakura with more of the same guilt she'd felt the previous times she'd eaten their food. But Tsunami had been so insistent.

"_You can't guard my dad on an empty stomach now, can you?"_

Somehow Tsunami became aware of Sakura's presence and looked over her shoulder to see who it was that was watching her. "Oh, good morning!" she had a pretty smile, if one that looked a little forced. She had so much to deal with it was no wonder simple pleasantries demanded effort from her. Even so, she took one look at Sakura and changed her tone entirely. "Are you feeling alright?"

Sakura felt herself flush profusely. Was it really that noticeable? "Huh? Oh, um..." she rubbed her eyes in false nonchalance, as if to show she was still tired. "Yeah, my eyes just water a lot when I yawn."

As she took a seat at the table Tsunami gave her a quick, sceptical look before resuming her work cleaning the cabbage. Sakura slumped down on the table to try and hide her face from further scrutiny, though she didn't think it was a pretence she could hold up for long. The mere thought of anyone else seeing her like this perpetuated the heat she felt on her cheeks.

She jumped in surprise when she heard the chair in front of her drag out. Tsunami sat down in front of her, pushing forward a mug of tea to go with her own. Sakura opened her mouth to thank her, but the sight of Tsunami's expression halted that motion. It looked too kind. Too understanding. Too familiar. Tsunami was a mother, after all.

"Thank you." She mumbled, staring deep into the mug.

Tsunami smiled again at her, softly this time. "I know the look of a girl that's got a lot on her mind but no one to share it with." She was tempted to reach out and touch Sakura's hand, but she kept it to herself to avoid the risk of invading the young girl's personal space. "It's that blond boy on your team, isn't it?"

"How did you..."

"I overheard you all when you were arguing the other day." Tsunami seemed apologetic. "Sorry, but you were being pretty loud."

Something that was close to a laugh, but more like a breath, came out of Sakura from that. If anyone had been loud, it had been her. Not a great foot forward in her ninja career, she had to admit. "Then you know about what Uzumaki is?" she studied her own expression in her tea, noting the way her brow creased by reflex at the mention of that name. "How can you feel comfortable having him in your home?"

Tsunami gave it some thought, though her expression hardly changed. "Well, I know that ninja villages hold their security in high regard." She was mostly speculating, but she didn't think that she was wrong. "I think Konoha is wiser than I am about things like that. If your village can trust him, then he can't be such a bad guy, can he?"

Sakura's grip on the mug tightened. Tsunami was saying the same thing that everyone else was. And yet still she was unconvinced. "But who knows what sort of things he's done?" she asked out of a sense of desperation, hoping that _someone_ would see reason.

This time Tsunami didn't stop herself. She did reach out and touch Sakura's hand. The young kunoichi looked up at her in surprise, and was given the same motherly look that made her feel uncomfortable inside. "That's exactly it, isn't it? If you can't say for certain the things he's done, then can you honestly say he's done anything at all?"

To that, Sakura could not think of anything to say. Though reason dictated to her that one who consorted with criminals must themselves be criminal, she had no guarantee that Naruto was the person her mind led her to believe he was. _"Except..."_ she thought, as a little recollection brought back something that had almost completely been overshadowed. _"He has a bounty on his head."_

Naruto had claimed innocence on that account, just before coming clean on his past associations. With him choosing to be honest on such an ugly aspect of his history, Sakura had no idea what to believe in terms of whether or not he was really guilty of the crime of murder. Her sense of logistics told her that just because Naruto was honest on one matter didn't mean he was honest on _all _matters. He could very well have killed that heir.

But... she remembered it too well.

That moment, during the fight between them and the Demon Brothers, when Naruto threw the punch that ended one of the criminal ninja's lives. The look in his face; in his eyes. Such dread and horror the likes that only belonged on someone who had just realised the terrible thing they'd done. Could someone like that really be guilty of first degree murder?

No. Even if he hadn't earned the bounty on his head, that didn't mean he'd done nothing. As a bandit the very of his life would have been living in an amoral fashion without any regard for law or humanity. Yet what Tsunami said was also true. Assuming he was guilty of some crime or other with no evidence to support such a thing was nothing more than ignorant prejudice.

Discomfort crawled through Sakura's insides and she became aware of the note sitting in her pocket. Sasuke's words came back to her and filled her with unease. Was she making Naruto a scapegoat for her own frustrations, just as she had done to Sasuke throughout most of her time at the academy? Was there really something wrong with her suspicions about him?

But... but...

"Bandits were the ones who took my parents." She barely noticed the words leaving her mouth. But she did notice the wet feeling in her eyes again, and the slight twitch of Tsunami's hand on hers.

_Creak._

The two ladies turned their heads to the sound of the floorboards just outside the kitchen announcing the presence of another. Who they saw was a small boy of around eight years of age, sporting a fisherman's hat and a child's uncertainty. Sakura quickly hid her face and wiped away her wet eyes.

"Inari, go wake your grandfather, ok?" Tsunami looked at her song expectantly. When he didn't respond, she pressed her request. "Inari!"

As if just now noticing his mother calling out to him, Inari looked away from Sakura and left rather swiftly. In his absence Tsunami turned back to Sakura, watching her as she took a deep, calming breath to settle her feelings. "Can we pretend this didn't happen?" Sakura asked, looking only fleetingly in Tsunami's eyes. "I didn't mean to bring that up."

Tsunami considered it carefully. The motherly side of her wanted to help this wounded young girl, but the rest of her knew it was none of her business. As such, she respectfully consented to that request. "Ok." She drew her hands back to her mug and took a tentative sip, looking as Sakura did the same. "Are you going to be alright?"

"Yeah." Sakura wanted to get out of here, at least so she could go to the bathroom and wash her face. But she still had a full mug of tea in front of her and the thought of wasting what little this family had was just too much. "You're right. I have to think things over."

It was as gentle a hint as Sakura could manage to put out there. Thankfully Tsunami caught it and gave Sakura a pat on the hand, before taking her drink and returning to the counter to resume her work. Meanwhile Sakura continued to drink the tea, unable to savour any of the flavour. There was far too bitter a taste in her mouth for anything else to come in.

Kakashi had said that Naruto was recognised for being associated with bandits, and despite that was trusted by the village enough to be made a Shinobi. Sasuke was concerned that Sakura was trying to use Naruto's past as justification for... she couldn't really say _what_ Sasuke felt she was doing. Even Tsunami, someone who had just as much reason to hate thugs as she did, felt that Naruto deserved the benefit of the doubt. Everyone else was willing to give Naruto a chance.

Could she do the same?

* * *

The act of getting dressed could be a soothing start to the day, depending on how one chose to look at it. To Naruto it was just this. Buckling one's belt, buttoning one's shirt and tying one's tie and laces, each with their own patterns he repeated every time he conducted this ritual. By the time he was adorned in his unusually formal attire, he was able to face the sun with an expression of serenity.

The past few days had carried quite the emotional weight on Naruto, extremely so. However by now he was sufficiently drained of his capacities for such intense feelings. With Sasuke's assurance that he would not do anything to harm Naruto's state of being, he could at least take some recovery from the stresses inflicted upon him in recent times.

He regarded the room about him with a cool interest. The rest of his team were already gone; Sakura presumably downstairs, while the other two out training. That left him with an opportunity the likes he had no intention of wasting. What better time or place to work out some kinks in his form could present itself during this period of needed diligence?

With all futons put aside, there was a fairly decent space for Naruto to do some brief exercises. Standing in the centre of the room, he faced the glass doors and slid into the basic stance of all boxers. His fists guarded his face without obstructing his vision. His footing was perfect and his balance without flaw. Confident in his posture he began with a few light jabs at the air, coupled with sways to avoid an imaginary opponent.

He followed along the course of this warm up for a few minutes, increasing the demand he made of his body little by little as it became more limber. Soon he was ducking, sidestepping, swiping, upper cutting, guarding and many more of the techniques he had learned following that stiflingly generic method his old sensei had taught him. The method that seemed to be what the full fledged students learned during their tenure at the academy.

Well, he could hardly speak against those that focused on such a method. After all, he had been beaten by that very method not long after entering the academy.

Naruto halted his workout after a clean straight punch, his fist stood still in the air while he stared further. His boxing had been beaten by the standard taijutsu of the academy. This said nothing towards which martial art was superior, but plenty of the flaws in Naruto's skills. That was a year ago, but without anyone to instruct him further in the ways of boxing, he was worried about where his skills lay.

"_There's still the Beast Form, though I'm not confident that's at a suitable level yet."_ He recalled the words of Kiba's mother when she observed the style Naruto had attempted to craft from his numerous spars with her son. She had said that the Beast Form was, at that time, just an unnecessarily messy kind of boxing. But if fully realised, it could have its uses. _"Excluding the obvious last resort of the Kyuubi... what I'm left with is..."_

Naruto relaxed his stance and drew his eyes down to his hands. Kakashi had been quite correct in his assessment the previous day. Of the powers Naruto had, the abilities that belonged only to him, there was one that he no longer had any reason to keep secret. Far from it in fact, as their encounter with Zabuza had proven. There was no choice left but to embrace it.

Concentrating on himself, Naruto put his hands together in the ram seal, carefully converting his stamina into chakra. Normally this was not needed, but when caution was an option, doing otherwise was stupid. Once satisfied with the chakra circulating through his body, he parted his hands and initiated a jutsu. One that to him was as familiar as any of the techniques that had been beaten into him along the course of his rough training. Yet to the knowledgeable observer, what he was doing was quite peculiar.

He formed the Crab hand seal. Yet he did so with his hands a distance from one another.

Fingers curved and thumbs arced, with the seal that existed only for Uzumaki techniques, Naruto commanded his chakra to obey his will. That chakra increased its velocity throughout his body and found its way out across his hands. It took on a form around his knuckles, resembling ghostly chains.

Naruto willed it further and the ghostly chains spread out from the ones around his knuckles, snaking along his wrists and up his arms. The wrapped themselves around his sleeves, reaching for his shoulders. There the tips met and bound together. Then and only then did Naruto tighten his hold of his chakra. That was when the chains became no longer ghostly. They were now quite solid.

Seemingly metal bindings covered his hands and arms, providing both an increased offence and defence to his overall statistics. Once this was achieved he settled his concentration and surveyed his work. There was no need to continue to focus in order to keep the chain wrappings intact. On their own they would diminish and erode over time, though he could repair that erosion quite easily once it began.

It really was a useful technique, he had to admit. It appeared crude, yet was in actually very elegant and purposeful. The chains were at their thickest where the Replication Arrays had been imprinted upon his flesh, providing the most protection to those vital seals. Though they looked to be quite tightly wrapped, Naruto had no trouble moving his arms as he liked.

A sardonic smile slithered onto Naruto's lips as he rotated his arms to make sure this was true. As little as he liked this power of his, this kekkei genkai as his sensei had put it, it had saved him and his team not once, but twice in the past few days. Without it they might have died at the hands of the demon brothers. Without it they might have been at the mercy of the demon of the hidden mist.

"So many demons looming from the shadows... have we wandered into the circles of hell?"

For some peculiar reason the notion did not disturb or concern Naruto in the least. Rather, he found it quite comforting. Though his connection to his team had become more than a touch chaotic recently, he could at least count on the motivations of his enemies to remain the same. They still wanted the bridge builder dead, and it was still Naruto's duty to deny them their goal. How kind of them to stay so consistent.

Naruto reached into his shirt pocket and pulled out his fob watch, flicking it open to take a look at the time. It looked to be around the time that Tazuna would be readying himself to leave. In that case it was just about time for Naruto to head downstairs.

No sooner had he reached this conclusion than the door opened up and Sakura looked in. "Uzumaki-" she called out, but abruptly stopped. At her sudden entrance Naruto had flinched, but that was not all that happen. The chains on his arms sporadically grew a series of vicious looking spikes across the outer edge, from his shoulders all the way down to his knuckles.

A sharp silence cut into the room then, with Sakura staring in a mix of unease and wonder at Naruto's visceral appearance. Several long seconds passed before she realised her mouth was hanging open. She promptly closed it and averted her gaze.

"We're almost ready to go. If you're going to eat anything you should hurry up."

She departed after that, leaving Naruto with the silence she had triggered. For the brief time she was there Naruto had not once looked her way. It wasn't until her footsteps died that he finally moved again. When he did, he looked at the spikes on the chains. Like Sakura his mouth hung open, but there was a detail she and him did not share.

She had looked at him with green eyes. He looked at himself with red.

"...What the hell...?"

* * *

A Noh mask... why was a Noh mask leering down at him?

Zabuza's vision was somewhat lacking. The medication Haku had given him appeared to impair his senses. This was of little hindrance to one with such experience. There could only be one answer to his question. A ninja had found his way into his den.

Beneath the gauze mask Zabuza curled his lip in disgust. The one time he was truly vulnerable, when he was counting on Haku to keep a firm watch over the den, and here he was with an intruder not three feet away from him.

Disgruntled, Zabuza offered no direct greeting to the intruder. "Is the kid dead?"

The intruder slowly shook his head, gesturing to the sofa at the far end of the room. Zabuza restrained his groans as he sat himself up to look there. He saw his student and subordinate lying down on the cushions, unconscious it seemed. There were no signs of injury Zabuza could see, and the kid was clearly still breathing. It was a small consolation overshadowed by his irritation at the kid's inability to hold the fort.

Still, satisfied that his protégé hadn't yet been murdered, Zabuza lay back down and turned his attention to the Noh mask looking down at him. Whoever this intruder was, he didn't look like a Kiri hunter nin. His dark cloak was featureless and covered everything bar that mask. Yet despite being impossible to identify, Zabuza had already learned something very important. This intruder wasn't here to kill. Haku wouldn't still be breathing if that were the case.

"What do you want?"

The Noh mask considered Zabuza while he lowered himself into the chair that Haku had often occupied over the past few days. Already Zabuza could feel a deep dislike for this stranger stirring in his gut. The purposeful silence, the curious stare, the lowering down to Zabuza's level. These were all perceived actions; airs that this stranger exuded, yet did not make blatant. A sense of pretence providing little clarity. Was this intruder being cautious of Zabuza, or was he observing him, like a dog to a bug?

Just a few seconds before the silence would have driven Zabuza to verbalise his disdain, the Noh mask made a quick and fluid movement, drawing his hands from within his cloak and tossing something to the weakened Shinobi. Zabuza caught the small square of paper just as sharply as the Noh mask had tossed it. He kept himself well, but the slightest of winces broke through his resolve. The Noh mask seemed to stir at this, and Zabuza cursed soundlessly. The intruder knew for certain what Zabuza's level of incapacitation was now.

Trying not to give away anything further to this person, Zabuza looked at the paper he'd been given. It was a composite sketch of someone whose face was very familiar to the mercenary by now. The messy hair, the wild eyes, the distinctive facial markings. No doubt about it. It was the brat with the barrier jutsu.

Zabuza snorted and tossed the sketch aside. The Noh mask paid no heed to the paper as it was discarded, refusing to look away from the former Kiri ninja's face. "You're a bounty hunter I take it?" the Noh mask gave no answer to this question. This was fine, if aggravating. The answer appeared obvious anyway. "Don't tell me you're looking for my help getting past Sharingan Kakashi?"

It was as fair an assumption as the flaws were obvious. Unless Zabuza's bingo book was more out of date than he thought, the price on that boy's head was something that would only make small time bounty hunters lick their lips. But small time bounty hunters couldn't hope to knock out Haku like this one had. Zabuza had to question the motives of this mysterious individual.

"No."

Zabuza glanced at the Noh mask, feeling like he'd achieved some small victory. "So you _do_ have a tongue." He remarked, sneering. "Then what?"

The Noh mask considered Zabuza's question in great depth, or so Zabuza presumed. This intruder weighed every scenario carefully, but he did it far too slow for the demon of the hidden mist's liking. Such a lack of urgency tempted him to grab the Executioner's Blade and show that even in a weakened state Momochi Zabuza was not someone to be looked down upon.

"I sometimes have a tongue." The Noh mask finally stated. "I reserve it for when dealing with important business. That and for giving directions."

Ignoring his wounds Zabuza grabbed the Executioner's Blade and swung it with all his might at the Noh mask. The blade sang through the air, but cried out in vain as it collided with nothingness. Zabuza glared as his mighty sword hit a wall that became visible only under the pressure of his weapon. The Noh mask had not moved a muscle.

"Did you come here to threaten me?!" Zabuza growled, the pain in his stomach screaming from the inside. He did his best to silence it, but his grip on his blade became shaky. For the first time in years the sword felt heavy. Unable to hold it up and longer, he let it fall to his side while he panted from the duress he'd inflicted upon himself. "I don't take kindly to blackmail."

The Noh mask remained silent, perhaps waiting for Zabuza to collect himself again. While he attempted to do this, he surreptitiously searched for what he knew had to be here. It wasn't hard to find. Several kunai were embedded in the floor, each inscribed with Fuinjutsu upon them. The Noh mask was protected behind that shell, and there was nothing Zabuza could do about it.

It didn't take too long for Zabuza to get his breathing back in check. Yet even then the Noh mask remained silent, waiting for more than just that. Down to Zabuza's heartbeat slowing to a regular pace, to his body temperature normalising. The Noh mask patiently waited until as many of the physiological strains brought on by that outburst had calmed. Then and only then did he speak again.

"I'm going to assume that was because you are feeling feverish. My associate assured me you are smarter than this."

That last sentence sufficed in cooling Zabuza properly. The notion that someone was freely spreading his name around to people he didn't know was of course an issue not to be taken lightly. But it was plain to see that no direct means of inquiry into who this blabbermouth was would bear fruit. At least none that were available to Zabuza at this moment in time.

"If you have business with me then hurry and get to it. Otherwise you're wasting both our time."

The Noh mask gave a nod of inclination. "Very well." He once more reached within his cloak and again procured another thing. A small, thin, and discernibly black book. "Then, let us begin with a small gift of good will."

Zabuza leered at the book. "By good will you mean a taste of what you have to offer." A small, greedy part of him was intrigued by the contents of that book, but the logic and reason this intruder had done so well into restoring in him silenced that piece of his being. "I don't believe in "no strings attached"."

The Noh masked gave slight pause, and then chuckled dryly. "I can see you getting along well with the sort of people I am involved with." Once again he pushed the book towards Zabuza, who cautiously accepted it. "We are aware that you dabble in bounty hunting yourself. We are also aware of the people you take your bounties to. Our people are better."

Rightfully suspicious, Zabuza opened the book and looked over the names. Though he had expected to gain no real insight from what he'd thought would be a simple list of names and locations, he was surprised to see instead a comprehensive data book on many individuals who specialised in certain illicit fields. It was like a bingo book for scoundrels. Probably not the same scoundrels the Noh mask and his associates used, but it was detailed enough to be convincing. That didn't mean it was trustworthy though.

"Use the information in that book and acquire greater funds for your efforts. However, is it not likely that we could use those assets to spy on you?" Zabuza shot a sideward look at the Noh mask as this was said to him. "Forgive me. I can see your thoughts because I am paranoid. And because I am paranoid, I am meticulous.

For the first time since the intruder showed up Zabuza felt like he was talking to a real person. "If the information in this book is real, you obviously have every reason to be." He snapped the book shut and set it down on his bedside table for later, more thorough viewing. "Now enough dancing around the issue. What you want me to do with the Ametsuchi killer?"

Like before, the Noh mask appeared mysteriously amused by Zabuza's words. "It's not technically accurate to refer to the boy you met as the Ametsuchi killer. Not that it's relevant." He reached on the table and took back the picture he'd shown to Zabuza. The ex-mist nin noticed curiously that the Noh mask both averted his gaze from Zabuza and moved outside the bounds of his own barrier. "I don't want you to capture the boy. I want you to leave him alone. Should you confront him again, you are not to kill him. Even if he stands in the way of the bridge builder."

It was Zabuza's turn to give a dry chuckle. "You're asking to complicate my current job for the sake of yours?" he understood how these sorts of things went, and was just getting back into the swing of how to deal with people like the one before him. "I wouldn't be doing myself any favours if word got around about such conduct. I'd need a pretty good reason to take such a chance."

"There are plenty of good reasons for you to do as we ask." The Noh mask replied in a heartbeat, his cutting voice implying much. It was followed by a more composed manner of speaking once he saw that Zabuza had sourly caught his drift. "If it's money you want, we can come to a suitable arrangement. However I prefer not to deal in something as mundane as that."

Zabuza was fairly certain that he was about to hear some ideological load or guarantee that was supposed to convince him to do the work for basically nothing. All the same, he wasn't about to make a decision without first having as many cards laid out before him as was possible. "What do you _prefer_ to deal in then?"

Having made no effort to hide his snide perspective on the matter, the Noh mask gave another pause before continuing on. "In a word?" again he reached within his cloak to procure something. Zabuza almost had a sense of déjà vu as he found yet another book being pushed towards him. However, this book was much larger. Thicker too. "Power."

Zabuza's eyes narrowed as he accepted the book only a little more readily than he had the first one. Feeling like he was holding his payment for the job he was yet to agree to, he was careful as he opened it up and took a look at the contents. The Noh mask waited patiently as Zabuza's brow slowly began to furrow, as pages began to turn. It wasn't long before the ex-mist Shinobi was turning again to face him.

"What is this?" On a superficial level it was easy to see what it was that lay within this book. But even the cursory glance Zabuza gave told him that there was a deeper meaning to the contents before him.

The Noh mask took another cautionary glance to Haku, who was still yet to stir. He then leant in so he could speak in a lower voice. "I assume a ninja of your stature would know the name "Akasuna no Sasori"." His assumption was proven by the slight widening of Zabuza's eyes. "What you hold in your hand is an almanac of just some of the poisons belonging to his extensive library of secret blends."

Though not one to take any matter involving a mysterious ninja lightly, Zabuza was beginning to lose all sight of everything that wasn't the book in his hand or the Noh mask beside him. Like the frog that had realised he was grasping nearing the edge of the well, he wondered just what lay on the other side for him.

"I find it hard to believe that you have access to the works of the most infamous puppeteer and poison maker in the history of the world."

Something on the Noh mask's visage seemed to glint. "How do you know _I'm_ not Sasori?"

The simple and sharp point cut through Zabuza's argument and left the mercenary rather silent. Having no clue as to what Akasuna no Sasori would look like, there was virtually no way of confirming or denouncing that the person next to him was Sasori. And even if he wasn't, there was no way of disproving that the book...

Then again...

"Answer this question and I'll believe your claims." Even with a mask between them, Zabuza could see the stranger's intrigue by his body language. "Is the name of the one who told you about me "Hoshigaki Kisame"?"

The Noh mask stiffened ever so slightly. That was sufficient for Zabuza. "How did you...?"

A proper victory won over the one who had been dominant in this meeting, Zabuza felt. It was simply a gamble, but it paid off. A short, final meeting from one swordsman to another, years ago. The last time Zabuza had ever spoken to his fellow swordsman of the hidden mist, Kisame had spoken of a group that had approached him. Of the very few people who would speak well of him, only one was an S-rank criminal. A title that was also shared by the one named "Akasuna no Sasori".

Zabuza had no intention of saying anything that could cause problems for his old friend. "I wonder..."

The Noh mask recovered, but from thereon he treated Zabuza with more deserved care than he had so far. "You are correct. Then I feel it's only fair that I warn you." Earned caution wasn't always in one's better interests. "We cannot allow information in regards to who we are or what we do to spread around. You understand what this means."

Now things were all coming together. Despite his weaker position, Zabuza could sit more comfortably knowing this. "It looks like we're in business."

The Noh mask stood, a wave of his hand tightening the near invisible razor wires connected to the kunai embedded in the floor. Each of the kunai flew up and into his sleeve. Along with one that had been obscured by being under the bed Zabuza lay in. One with an explosive tag hanging off the end. The mercenary sneered as the Noh mask headed for the open window, setting his hand upon it as if to leave. However, he paused.

"Is there more?" Zabuza was eager to see this person gone.

Across the foliage the Noh mask cast his vision, clearly contemplating while his fingers tapped the wood. "Officially I am only here to ensure that Uzumaki Naruto does not die." He turned his head toward Zabuza. "However there is a secondary objective of little urgency set out to me. I am to keep an eye open for potential allies to the group I represent. Allies that would be well rewarded for their work."

The book of poisons lay on Zabuza's lap, serving as a beacon of the rewards which this individual was referring to. If what he held was real, it would be folly to ignore what the Noh mask was offering. Momochi Zabuza was no mere sell sword. He was a man with an ambition; with an enemy much more powerful than him. Perhaps folly was an understatement.

"Go on."

"It would seem that Hoshigaki Kisame would vouch for you if I were to bring you forward as a potential asset. All you need then is my recommendation." His tone grew graver with each passing sentence. "There is one secondary objective you could take on to improve your chances of being further associated with us. But this must stay off the table. This is between you and I alone."

"And what would that be?"

The Noh mask looked dead ahead again. "The other boy on the team. Uchiha Sasuke. There are members in my group who have plans for him. They would like him to survive as well. However his life is of little value in the grand scheme of things." An imperative pause, as the Noh mask took one last chance to reconsider his words. "If you were to ensure his death, I would be personally grateful."

Without awaiting any response from Zabuza, the Noh mask tipped over the edge of the window and vanished from sight, his cloak fluttering behind. Quietly Zabuza observed the window for a few minutes, deep in thought about what had unfolded before him. He gathered the two books given to him by that enigmatic individual and continued to peruse them. Yet, while his eyes were on those, his thoughts were on one matter that confused him more than anything else.

"_Not technically accurate to call the brat the Ametsuchi killer..."_ he heard Haku begin to stir, but he gave his subordinate not even a cursory look. _"What is that supposed to mean?"_

* * *

The sound of wet foliage being trodden on gave the Noh mask cause to halt his departure. He had made great enough of a distance from Zabuza's hideout that the den was no longer in his range of sight. The Noh mask barely turned to look at the one who was approaching him. He had been expecting this person to show up at some point or another.

"Can I continue observing him now?"

The Noh mask looked further on back to the den. He imagined Zabuza would be busy berating his subordinate or something like that. "No, there's no further need for you here. I'll be observing Momochi Zabuza from here on out."

The young one gave nothing away with his expression. "I'm supposed to-"

"You were supposed to track down Zabuza and survey his movements so that I would not have to go looking for him when I arrived." The Noh mask sounded impatient, but that became less clear as he turned to face the young one. "You've done well not to be detected by the demon of the hidden mist or his protégé for as long as you have. I will inform your master as such. Now return to your team and resuscitate them. You've made sure to destroy their identification papers?"

The young one gave the Noh mask a flat, bored look. "Yeah, they'll think the papers were stolen and the village is going to be infiltrated. I've done this before."

The Noh mask might have clipped the young one for his impertinence, had he not been worthy of the praise he'd been given. Instead he settled for waving the young one away; the nearest thing to a farewell they shared before he found himself to be alone again. Alone with his thoughts and suspicions.

That boy was only supposed to watch Zabuza. That he had approached Uchiha Sasuke at all indicated his master had instructed him to do so. The question wasn't why. The Noh mask knew why. It came down to the same reason that he wanted Uchiha Sasuke dead. Two means to the same end. Differing opinions to the same conclusion.

As a light rain began to fall the Noh mask decided to put those thoughts aside for the time being. He turned away from Zabuza's den and walked on toward his own hideaway. For now there was nothing more for him to do but wait and see what became of Team Seven in the near future.


End file.
